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Vigil Games Cofounder Leaves Studio

Joe Madureira has announced that he is leaving Vigil Games, the studio he cofounded in 2005. Madureira, the creative director behind the Darksiders games, says that he is moving on to pursue "new adventures."

He revealed his departure in a Facebook status update. "Farewell and best wishes to all my brothers and sisters at Vigil Games! After 7 long years and 2 hit games ( Darksiders BABY! ) I'm afraid the time has come for me to move on to new adventures. I could not be more proud of what we achieved, or the awesome people who helped build up this studio. I can safely say Vigil's future is in very good hands, so expect only awesomeness down the road. This feels surreal...I miss the place already."

“After nearly eight years at the studio, he has decided to take time out and focus on his passion for comics and other creative outlets," THQ said in a statement. "His departure will not have an impact on future DLC or game development. Joe was beloved by all at Vigil and THQ, and he will most certainly be missed.  It is possible he may still consult with Vigil on future projects, and we look forward to that opportunity.”

Madureira hasn't yet said what his next move will be, but he did say that information on what he deems "The Next Big Thing" will be coming over the next few months. In the meantime, he says he'll be working on comics.

You can see footage of Madureira reflecting on his career (and drawing Death) here.

[Via GameSpot]

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Comments
  • At least he'll be moving on to comics and not mobile games...
  • Maybe he will finish Battle Chasers.
  • Well ok

  • 7 Years and 2 hit games, figured he'd stick around a bit longer before moving on.

  • Sad, never nice when a major person leaves a good company.

  • Way too many cool developers are retiring. Who is John Galt?

  • I wish him the best and my curiosity is piqued at his next big thing. I am also sure Vigil Games will be fine without him.

  • Sad

  • So he's moving on to start a new stuido to work on mobile games, am I right? Always seems to be the case, leave a good studio with a good pay check to move onto something slight less stable. oh well.
  • Does this mean no Darksiders 3? :(
  • I HOPE he gets back to Battle Chasers!
  • No! I love Darksiders and I can't imagine DS3 not having Joe Mad's design work!

  • Darksiders is awesome, so I'm looking forward to his future endeavors.

  • So many people are leaving their jobs lately, I wonder what's going on.

  • You can't be serious. :O

  • Personally this is bad news for the possible future of the franchise, for his visual finesse was what makes Darksiders really special and stand out at first glance. His art is amazing and I couldn't imagine Darksiders continuing without his imagination and distinct style. :(

    [EDIT] Original comment was too serious sounding, so I'll add this. NOOOOOOO!!! Still with the sad face though. ;(
  • i wish Joe Mad all the luck for his future endeavors but i just have one question:

    what's gona happen to Darksiders 3?

    (we still need to see Fury and Strife and maybe the 4 of the Horsemen together)

  • but what about the remaining horsemen:(

  • Not surprised; Joe rarely finishes things he starts. Sure, he's got Uncanny X-Men and The Ultimates 3 under his belt, but there's still Battle Chasers and Avenging Spider-Man that have made me just wary of anything he announces.

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