ArenaNet’s Mike O’Brien has this evening commented on the departure of NCsoft West’s president of product development Jeff Strain, in an attempt to reassure Guild Wars fans.
Despite Jeff Strain having left ArenaNet a year ago for the position with NCsoft, the Guild Wars community has shown concern over Strain’s departure and what it means for the Guild Wars sequel. ArenaNet’s co-founder Mike O’Brien has been quick to respond to the news adding:”I wanted to take a moment to offer my personal note on Jeff’s departure.Jeff is a personal friend of mine. We worked together very closely from the time he joined Blizzard in 1996, through our founding of ArenaNet in 2000, until he left ArenaNet to join NCsoft West in 2008. I’m sad to see him leaving NCsoft now. We remain good friends and I wish him great success in his next endeavor.
It’s important to understand that ArenaNet is a separate and self-contained development studio. Jeff hasn’t been involved in the day-to-day development of Guild Wars 2 since he left ArenaNet more than a year ago, and I don’t expecthis departure to have a direct impact on our studio or on Guild Wars 2. I continue to lead ArenaNet, and I’m not going anywhere.
We have an amazing team here at ArenaNet, and we continue to work hard on Guild Wars 2, preparing for the day when we can first reveal it to the world. That day is coming very soon now. I’m confident that, when you see Guild Wars 2 forthe first time, you’re going to love what you see, and any worries you have about its development will fade away.”Guild Wars fans should take some comfort from Mike’s comments. It seems Jeff’s departure doesn’t affect the game’s development, which is of course good news.Thanks Guild Wars IncGamers
