Chris Kaleiki, who spent 13 years as a game designer on World Of Warcraft (WOW), announced his departure from Blizzard in 2020 to establish an independent game studio, Notorious Studios, focusing on developing the indie game Legacy: Steel & Sorcery. In a recent interview with Gamesradar, he shared his reasons for leaving Blizzard, primarily believing that large companies have gradually lost touch with players during the development of AAA games, potentially failing to understand players’ needs or hear their genuine feedback.
Chris Kaleiki pointed out that during the development of large-scale games, it’s often challenging for various departments to grasp the entire scope of the game. He hopes to become a well-rounded game producer, not just someone responsible for a portion of a project, which is why he decided to leave Blizzard and establish his own studio.
Compared to Notorious Studios’ ongoing development of “Legacy: Steel & Sorcery,” he describes this work as having early Blizzard-style PvP MMO features. The studio also boasts several former employees who contributed to the development of “WoW,” which undoubtedly adds a touch of that Blizzard flair to the game.
For those interested in this game, keep an eye out for “Legacy: Steel & Sorcery,” which is set to launch in early access on the Steam platform in 2025. Currently, it only supports English interface.
