Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher, who also served as Head of Product Development and Studios at Square Enix, was announced to be departing the company today after being with Crystal Dynamics for a decade, and at the top since January of 2009. Scot Amos and Ron Rosenberg have stepped in as co-heads of the studio.
Darrell’s got a little bit of time to play the best PC games ever now.
The move was announced via a post on the official Tomb Raider blog earlier today. Phil Rogers, Square Enix’s CEO, had this to say:
“Today Darrell Gallagher announced that he is moving on from Square Enix at the end of this year. Darrell became head of Crystal Dynamics back in 2009, led that studio to reboot the Tomb Raider franchise, and for the last 3 years he has led our western studios. I want to thank him for his tremendous effort and contribution to Square Enix, along with the amazing entertainment he has helped create. I am sad to see him go but respect his decision and we should all celebrate the sheer blood, sweat and tears he has put into our company over the last 10 years! We are excited for him and his family on their next chapter. We wish them the best of luck in the future.”
Meanwhile Scot Amos, whose been a producer a Crystal Dynamics before this, issued this statement:
“I’ve been at Crystal Dynamics for an amazing 5 years, most recently as an Executive Producer on Rise of the Tomb Raider. I’ve been in the industry for 24 years, and immediately prior to joining Crystal I worked at EA’s Visceral and Maxis studios. While I greatly enjoyed my time there, Crystal had the allure of being on the verge of a dramatic rebirth. This was both in its work to reboot an iconic gaming franchise with Tomb Raider 2013, and also culturally refocusing as a studio that puts the player’s quality gaming experience first. It’s been a fantastic creative challenge that I’m proud to say we’ve risen to achieve. Looking to the future, I’m thrilled to take the next steps of growing our studio and expanding our portfolio, while continuing to foster an environment where our developers can learn and grow as they craft beloved products.”
And lastly Ron Rosenburg, also a producer since 2009, said this:
“I joined Crystal in 2008, drawn by my dream to work on a Tomb Raider game. I’ve gained experience as a pivotal contributor on the Tomb Raider refresh, as well as championing the studio’s vision for a “digital short” that became Lara Croft & the Guardian of Light. I’ve been working in high tech and gaming for 20 years, including time at Mad Doc Software, now known as Rockstar New England. As an independent developer, I had the opportunity to work with and learn from many different publishers and developers across the industry. I love making great games with great people and Crystal offers both of those things. We’re always working to make the best game we can for our players, and I’m excited to take this even further in my new role.”
Oddly, there wasn’t anything from Darrell himself, though he won’t be actually gone until the new year. The timing of his departure makes sense, with Crystal Dynamics having recently finished up Rise of the Tomb Raider, and him helping put out Just Cause 3 in the last few weeks as well. Good luck to him in the future!