Joe Ziegler, game director of Riot Games’ Valorant, is moving on from the game to work on something new. In a post on the Riot Games website, Ziegler announced his move after eight years of working on the popular competitive shooter, a year of which was worked on after the official launch.
In the post, he expressed gratitude to the fans and his colleagues as he passes the baton onto his successor:
“After eight years working on Valorant, building it from the ground up with a team of dedicated and passionate developers who’ve worked tirelessly to serve you all with the respect and admiration that you deserve, I am giving up the mantle of game director of the Valorant tac-shooter to my good friend, Andy Ho [senior director of game direction at Riot].”
Where Ziegler is going next is anyone’s guess, though it will still be at Riot. As we know, Riot has a lot of irons in the fire, many we don’t know about yet. But either way, the change in leadership is an interesting development for a game that’s caught fire ever since it officially released a year ago. What this means for the game is also anyone’s guess.
Riot’s been in the news a lot lately, especially after settling the gender discrimination lawsuit filed against it. Even so, its games remain extremely popular, and even its foray into animation has been met with positive reviews. Riot seems like a company on the upswing right now.
Valorant is available now for PC.