Brian Holinka, lead combat designer for World of Warcraft, has announced that he is leaving Blizzard to join Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street in forming a new game studio.
The former World of Warcraft developer made the announcement on Twitter yesterday, saying he’s leaving Blizzard on Friday after working with Team 2 for nearly 11 years. This comes over two months after Street, former executive producer of the upcoming League of Legends MMO, stepped down from Riot Games and the game due to personal reasons.
“After nearly 11 years, Friday will be my last day on World of Warcraft and at Blizzard,” Holinka wrote in his Twitter thread. “I’m excited to spend time off with my family this summer, after which, I’ll begin a new adventure with my old friend and mentor, Greg Street.”
After nearly 11 years, Friday will be my last day on World of Warcraft and at Blizzard. I’m excited to spend time off with my family this summer, after which, I’ll begin a new adventure with my old friend and mentor, Greg Street.
— Brian Holinka (@holinka) May 30, 2023
He continued, “I will miss the combat team tremendously and my biggest regret is not being there to see them grow, develop and thrive as designers. [Team 2]’s new leadership is very strong and will serve them well. I leave confident that they are in good hands.”
Holinka joined Blizzard in 2012 as lead PvP designer for World of Warcraft, eight years after working on Battlefield 1942 and other first-person shooters for DICE, Trauma Studios, THQ, High Moon Studios, and Kaos Studios. In 2017, he took a break from World of Warcraft to develop an unannounced Blizzard project as a senior designer, and returned to the game to oversee the entire class and combat design team as lead combat designer.
Street nor Holinka haven’t released any details regarding the name of their new independent studio nor the games they will be developing. Even so, we can’t wait to see what projects they’ll be cooking up.
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.