Hearthstone’s Game Director Is Leaving Blizzard

After 11 years with the company, Hearthstone’s Game Director August Dean Ayala has left Blizzard. The initial announcement came via Twitter with follow-up tweets thanking the community, colleagues, and more. His last day was on September 17 with no news on his next steps, just a lighthearted 'unemployed' in his Twitter bio. Perhaps the director will take some well-deserved time off.

Hearthstone has faced criticism over the last several months, like serious monetization changes to Hearthstone’s Battleground Season and even more recently, a change that has made the game inaccessible to blind players while modders were on vacation, according to a Reddit post. If there was a time to get out, it would be now, although the reason behind Ayala's resignation is a mystery.

Ayala mentions that he is a Genshin Impact fan in his Twitter bio and with the recent announcement that Genshin Impact will also be getting a TCG coupled with Ayala’s recent departure from Blizzard, it could make one wonder where he will be going next. This could just be wishful thinking though, as there is no news on Ayala joining the ranks at HoYoverse any time soon. Hopefully he will join a new studio though, as for the most part, he did a lovely job working on Hearthstone and will be missed.