Gears of War veteran Rod Fergusson has announced that he will be stepping down as studio head of The Coalition in March; after March, he will be overseeing the Diablo series at Blizzard, possibly focusing on Diablo 4. He will probably focus on "Diablo 4.

Fergusson made the announcement today via Twitter. This is a big move: Fergusson has been involved with Gears of War since its launch in 2005, with the exception of a brief stint at Irrational Games in 2012-2013. In 2014, Microsoft Ferguson returned to the series when it was announced that it had acquired the Gears series from Epic Games; despite his brief stint at Irrational, Ferguson is credited on every Gears of War that has shipped.

The last Gears game with Ferguson's involvement will be Gears Tactics, scheduled for release on April 28. Gears 5, which was released last year, was well received there, with reviewers writing that it "combines a polished, surprisingly varied campaign with solid PvE and PvP modes that gently refine the classic Gears experience."

The news comes after a string of high-profile departures from Blizzard in the past year. Founders Frank Pearce and Mike Morhaime both left the company during 2019, and former Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm directors Dustin Browder, Eric Dodds, and Jason Chayes were among those leaving.