With 9.2 just around the corner, World of Warcraft lost another important talent, and rewarding designer Russ Petersen (also known as Nit Moogle) announced his departure from Activision Blizzard on February 12. He was previously responsible for the game's rewards content, and became another big guy to leave after chief mission designer Johnny Cash and chief designer Craig Morrison.
"I hope that working at Warcraft has brought you some enjoyment, and thank you for giving me the privilege of participating in this extraordinary journey," Russ Peterse tweeted, without specifying the specific reason for leaving, or mentioning the next step, or the next company.
Microsoft's acquisition has injected a shot in the arm for the turbulent Activision Blizzard, after allegations of discrimination and harassment of the company's employees came to an end and official promises to provide a better working environment, though that did not seem to stop the loss of senior talent.
Russ Petersen has been with Blizzard for less than 10 years, and his involvement in the reward system dates back to the Legion Advent version, designing a magnificent treasure trove that includes the Shadow Nation version, the Heart of Azeroth, and the Azeroth Enhanced Armor. Russ Petersen has much of his work behind the scenes, and his outstanding achievements have made World of Warcraft's backstage data more "resilient", after all, many of the player's play content has to be designed around these rewards.
Russ Petersen worked as a system designer at Cabin Studios before entering Blizzard, supporting another MMO game, WildStar.