Greg Street, vice president of Riot Games and executive producer of the developing MMO "League of Legends," is leaving the company; Street said he wants to spend more time with his family, and after nine years at Riot, "something It's time to do something new," he said.

Mr. Street had said he would leave Twitter (open in new tab) in December 2022 due to the expected death of his brother and father. Yesterday, he returned, expressed gratitude for the support shown during his absence, and announced that he would be stepping down from his position at Riot.

"A combination of personal and professional matters have led me to take this path," Street tweeted (open in new tab). We experienced a devastating personal loss last year and I want to be close to my surviving family."

"But during my time off, I've been thinking a lot about my career. Grief has a way of making you focus on what matters most to you (though I still wouldn't recommend it overall). And after nine years at Riot, I feel like it's time to do something new!"

Street may not have the name recognition of, say, Todd Howard, but leading a League of Legends-based MMO is clearly a big job. So far, we haven't seen anything about the game, but Street has provided some interesting moments related to it, starting with the official reveal (open in new tab) brought about by a very casual tweet on Thursday.

In 2022, Street unintentionally made people uneasy by stating that "there is no guarantee this game will ship." This statement caused concern that the development of the MMO might not be going well, and Street clarified that he was speaking from a big picture perspective (open in new tab) and that the MMO project was fine.

"In this business, there is no guarantee that any game will ship," Street said. Those who make such promises are essentially saying that they will ship games even if they are disappointing."

"We will ship games even if they are disappointing. We do not ship games that are disappointing."

Street's announcement was made by Marc Merrill, co-founder and president of Riot; Rowan Parker, creative director of Riot Forge; and Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard - Street had worked on World of Warcraft, where he spent six years as a systems designer, prompting tributes and congratulations from colleagues and peers, including Warcraft creative advisor Chris Metzen.

Street said he intends to stay in game development, but did not comment on what exactly he will start next; regarding the League of Legends MMO, he assured his followers that it is "in good hands."

"I said from the beginning that it would be a long journey to create the League of Legends MMO that you deserve," he tweeted (open in new tab).

"The most important job I can do as part of that is to build a great team, and while I try to be humble about the whole thing, I brag about this team all day long.

"The MMO is in good hands and it's the right time to take over for the next phase," he tweeted. 'I intend to stay in game development and have already been presented with many exciting opportunities. And I plan to play with you all when the Riot MMO is released."