After 15 years of working with developer Blizzard, Ben Brode, Hearthstone’s game director announces his departure from the company.

Brode made his announcement via a post on the official forums of Blizzard today, saying to his colleagues and fans that, “After 15 years at Blizzard and almost ten years working on Hearthstone, I have made the incredibly difficult decision to embark on a new journey.” Furthermore, Brode explained in the announcement that, “I am very fortunate to be able to take a crazy risk right now in my life and I’m excited to be scrappy and a little scared.”

Brode also mentioned how he was appreciative and thankful of the Hearthstone team and that although he got too much credit for being the public face of the game, and he is confident of leaving Hearthstone in the best possible hands. Looking ahead, Brode discussed how he is taking a significant risk in leaving Blizzard as he will help establish a start-up company which Brode shared that “We’ll probably make games, but we haven’t figured anything else out, yet. I’m looking forward to designing, programming, and creating things again.”

Brode concluded his announcement by thanking Blizzard, the Hearthstone team, and the community that helped build the game to what it is today.