Diablo III’s lead designer leaves Blizzard and joins Obsidian

Leonard Boyarsky, the lead designer for Blizzard’s massively successful Diablo III, has left his position at Blizzard to join the ranks of RPG developer Obsidian Entertainment. Boyarsky made the announcement on his Facebook page, and the news was later confirmed by Obsidian itself through its Twitter account.

Well isn’t this just awesome?! pic.twitter.com/qrzPeCoEoN

— Obsidian (@Obsidian) April 11, 2016

Boyarsky is a veteran RPG designer with credentials dating back to the days of Interplay. After wrapping up art direction on the first Fallout game, he left to co-found the short-lived yet widely loved RPG studio Troika Games and aided in the development of cult-hits Vampire — The Masquerade: Bloodlines and Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

Taking up the position at Obsidian Entertainment reunites him with fellow Troika co-founder Tim Cain. Obsidian itself is a kind of mishmash pool of talented developers from Black Isle Studios, Interplay, BioWare, and that whole “turn of the millennium” RPG scene.

Boyarsky should feel right at home working on a Pillars of Eternity expansion or possibly even the studio’s next project, Tyranny.