The designer behind "Halo" and "Destiny" announced his immediate departure from Bungie last Friday in favor of a new job at Bethesda Studios.
Destiny's Senior Gameplay Designer, Josh Hamrick has announced that he is leaving Bungie after six years to join Bethesda Game Studios.
According to VG 24/7, Hamrick announced on Twitter overnight he'd be leaving the company in a week's time.
Next Friday, after nearly 6 amazing years and w/ REACH & Destiny on the shelf, I say goodbye to my @Bungie family... A new adventure awaits!
— Josh Hamrick (@Josh_Hamrick) March 28, 2015
Hamrick joined Bungie in 2009 after working two years at Midway Austin, where he created designer functions such as multiplayer maps and modified single-player levels. Hamrick was in charge of fixing bug in code in order to get BlackSite: Area 51 out the door.
After teasing his next employer for a bit, Hamrick revealed that he is going to Bethesda Game Studios, developers of the single-player Elder Scrolls games and Fallout 3.
According to GameRant, the split between the developer behind Halo and Destiny, Hamrick and Bungie was cordial. Hamrick send his best wishes to both his former co workers as well as Bungie's countless fans. He further implies that the reasons for his leaving the company were personal. Hamrick is not only excited about the new challenges but also about the fact that he will now be living closer to his family as Bungie is in Washington state, but Bethesda Games is located in Maryland.
Destiny players however shouldn't be worried about Hamrick's departure as the development team for the game is still massive which implies, it's easier for them to put up with departure, even among senior staff. Moreover, considering it at least a 10-year franchise, Activision has invested considerably in Destiny. Although the exact size of the team is unclear, it's apparently the most expensive game ever made, thus there are other designers to shoulder the load while Bungie search for a replacement, according to CinemaBlend.
With two more expansions announced for the game, Bungie still has a lot of work to do on Destiny. If speculations are anything to go by, there are several more expansions in development as well. And if that's not all, Bungie is also working on a sequel.
Do you think Josh Hamrick's departure will influence "Destiny" in any way? Let us know in the comments below!
