Cliff Bleszinski Departs Epic Games

btarunr · Oct 4, 2012, 02:23 AM

Today we are saying farewell with warm regards to Cliff Bleszinski, who is departing as Epic’s design director to chart the next stage of his career. During the past two decades, Cliff has helped shape many successful games that have captured the imaginations of millions of players around the world. We are grateful for his influence on Epic’s legacy, from the wild adventures “Jazz Jackrabbit” to the visceral combat of “Gears of War.”

Said Tim Sweeney, Epic’s founder, CEO and technical director, “In 20 wonderful years with Epic, Cliff Bleszinski has grown into a true design luminary, and his contributions to the ‘Unreal’ and ‘Gears’ series have helped shape the game industry into what it is today. Cliff leaves Epic with our gratitude for his many contributions, and our wishes for continued success in the next chapter of his life!”

“In my 10 years of working with Cliff, his passion for creating video games of the highest quality has been unflinching. We are grateful for all of his hard work, and remain committed to making our fans happy and to always raising the bar in everything we do at Epic,” said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps.

“Cliff has been my friend and business associate for the past 20 years and, while it is sad to see him move on from Epic, I know that everyone here has benefitted greatly from his passion for gaming and the depth of his expertise and experience,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic. “I’ll miss watching his star shine from such a close vantage point but I’ll still look forward to watching his continued success.”

We would also like to share an excerpt from Cliff’s personal note to his colleagues:

Quote:

I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop. I literally grew up in this business, as Mike likes to say. And now that I’m grown up, it’s time for a much needed break.

Quote:

I will miss the projects, the playtests, the debates, and most importantly, the people. Epic only hires the best of the best, and it has been a joy working with each and every one of you on a daily basis, whether you were hired weeks ago or decades ago. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with a variety of disciplines, from code to art to marketing and PR – it’s been one big, rewarding learning experience. I’m confident that each project that is being built, whether at Epic, Chair, PCF, or Impossible will be top notch and will please gamers and critics alike.

We wish Cliff the best with his future endeavors. You can, too, via @therealcliffyb on Twitter or on the Epic Forums.

Wrigleyvillain · Oct 4, 2012, 02:34 AM

Wow. Big news. I still remember the first time I saw his name "Cliffy B" credited on an Unreal deathmatch map.

stratosrally · Oct 4, 2012, 04:00 AM

He definitely was a giant in his field - a real pioneer. I, too thrilled at his Unreal levels back in the day.

xBruce88x · Oct 4, 2012, 04:13 AM

I still play Jazz Jackrabbit from time to time, fun game. I've played many unreal games and gears... all very good games. Good luck Cliffy B

NC37 · Oct 4, 2012, 04:21 AM

Can we have a UT99 remake now? I mean the original engine, not the modern crap.

stratosrally · Oct 4, 2012, 05:32 AM

You and I of are like mind on that issue!

UT '99 was the game I played regularly for the most years - by far... in fact I should load it up again. It's only been about 2 years since I last played.

All those awesome user-created levels and mods, and you could use them in singleplayer mode against bots. The bots were so much fun to play against, especially when you chose to alter their behavior and abilities.

I always played as a Skaarj. Those were the days...

Heck - they just released an HD update of Tony Hawk, and they did Serious Sam a while back - let's start a petition for HD UT '99 !

Dj-ElectriC · Oct 4, 2012, 06:08 AM

Noo.....

Akrian · Oct 4, 2012, 07:09 AM

Unreal series was awesome, Unreal Tournament 99 was amazing, Gears of War ..... Cliff lost me there

Prima.Vera · Oct 4, 2012, 08:35 AM

*Off topic

We want a remake of the original Unreal game. And I mean the first, not the Tournaments one. That game was one of the best games I ever played....

HammerON · Oct 4, 2012, 08:42 AM

^^^Agree

Animalpak · Oct 4, 2012, 01:29 PM

a succesful man

TheMailMan78 · Oct 4, 2012, 03:20 PM

Don't think you guys know what this means. This is like Carmack leaving iD software. Epic is dead and its a sad day. I look forward to seeing what ole' Cliff does now......maybe him and Carmack will do something together.

3870x2 · Oct 4, 2012, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Don't think you guys know what this means. This is like Carmack leaving iD software. Epic is dead and its a sad day. I look forward to seeing what ole' Cliff does now......maybe him and Carmack will do something together.

Since Bros of War, I am not too worried about him or the company.

Wrigleyvillain · Oct 4, 2012, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Don't think you guys know what this means. This is like Carmack leaving iD software. Epic is dead and its a sad day. I look forward to seeing what ole' Cliff does now......maybe him and Carmack will do something together.

Why I said "huge news".

Ozpa · Oct 4, 2012, 11:55 PM

It reminds me of DM-Turbine when I hear his name.

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Oct 4, 2012, 02:34 AM	#2
Wrigleyvillain Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,556 (2.19/day) Thanks: 1,540 Thanked 1,596 Times in 1,137 Posts System Specs	Wow. Big news. I still remember the first time I saw his name "Cliffy B" credited on an Unreal deathmatch map. __________________ “i dont care what consoles have they dont have mouse and keyboard” -crazyeyesreaper

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Oct 4, 2012, 04:13 AM	#4
xBruce88x Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Winder, GA, USA Posts: 2,221 (1.67/day) Thanks: 652 Thanked 506 Times in 401 Posts System Specs	I still play Jazz Jackrabbit from time to time, fun game. I've played many unreal games and gears... all very good games. Good luck Cliffy B __________________

Oct 4, 2012, 04:00 AM	#3
stratosrally Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 29 (0.04/day) Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts System Specs	He definitely was a giant in his field - a real pioneer. I, too thrilled at his Unreal levels back in the day.

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Oct 4, 2012, 04:21 AM	#5
NC37 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The armpit of California Posts: 1,068 (0.63/day) Thanks: 156 Thanked 238 Times in 142 Posts System Specs	Can we have a UT99 remake now? I mean the original engine, not the modern crap. __________________ "We tried to help Intel, but they don’t listen much. We’ve been telling them for years that their graphics suck…" -Steve Jobs

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Oct 4, 2012, 05:32 AM	#6
stratosrally Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 29 (0.04/day) Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts System Specs	You and I of are like mind on that issue! UT '99 was the game I played regularly for the most years - by far... in fact I should load it up again. It's only been about 2 years since I last played. All those awesome user-created levels and mods, and you could use them in singleplayer mode against bots. The bots were so much fun to play against, especially when you chose to alter their behavior and abilities. I always played as a Skaarj. Those were the days... Heck - they just released an HD update of Tony Hawk, and they did Serious Sam a while back - let's start a petition for HD UT '99 !

Oct 4, 2012, 06:08 AM	#7
Dj-ElectriC Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Trollithia Posts: 1,612 (1.55/day) Thanks: 141 Thanked 666 Times in 309 Posts System Specs	Noo..... __________________ Unreal Tournament mod - 85% progress Sponsored by MSI and Antec Battletag: HolyDiver#1664

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Oct 4, 2012, 07:09 AM	#8
Akrian Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 159 (0.10/day) Thanks: 2 Thanked 14 Times in 11 Posts System Specs	Unreal series was awesome, Unreal Tournament 99 was amazing, Gears of War ..... Cliff lost me there __________________ Rig 2 : i7 2600k, 2x4gb ddr3 1600 , 640gb hdd 7200 rpm sata III, , Noctua Dh14, 2x580s, Corsair TX 850W. AMD ! fix your eyefinity and trifire support

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Oct 4, 2012, 08:35 AM	#9
Prima.Vera Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Antagonia Posts: 1,430 (2.22/day) Thanks: 247 Thanked 185 Times in 124 Posts System Specs	Off topic We want a remake of the original Unreal game. And I mean the first, not the Tournaments one. That game was one of the best games I ever played.... __________________ The richest man is not he who has the most, but he who needs the least.*

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Oct 4, 2012, 08:42 AM	#10
HammerON The Watchful Moderator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: The Cold North Posts: 4,470 (2.85/day) Thanks: 4,064 Thanked 2,998 Times in 1,577 Posts System Specs	^^^Agree

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Oct 4, 2012, 01:29 PM	#11
Animalpak Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Switzerland Posts: 1,659 (0.85/day) Thanks: 655 Thanked 384 Times in 215 Posts System Specs	a succesful man

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Oct 4, 2012, 03:20 PM	#12
TheMailMan78 Banstick Dummy Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Crystal River, FL Posts: 15,142 (6.85/day) Thanks: 1,337 Thanked 6,861 Times in 3,752 Posts System Specs	Don't think you guys know what this means. This is like Carmack leaving iD software. Epic is dead and its a sad day. I look forward to seeing what ole' Cliff does now......maybe him and Carmack will do something together.

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Oct 4, 2012, 11:55 PM	#15
Ozpa Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 323 (0.21/day) Thanks: 167 Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts System Specs	It reminds me of DM-Turbine when I hear his name.

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