Legendary game designer Warren Spector – known for his work on titles like Deus Ex and Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss – has said in a new social media post that he is likely retiring from game development. In his post, Spector discussed his long and storied career. As for why he is thinking of retirement, he believes that his age and health have been catching up to him.
“Let me cut right to the chase. I’m retiring from game development. At least I think so. I’ve been here before and changed my mind, but this time I’m pretty sure I mean it.”
Spector has worked in the industry for 44 years, and in that time, has had a hand in shipping 17 games and around 9 add-ons. Noting that some of the titles he worked on are still being played even three decades later is a great legacy to leave behind. The fact that many of his games have also influenced entire genres also doesn’t hurt.
“I’ve had a great career. Wouldn’t change a thing even if I could. But the reasons to retire are simple: I’m a month away from my 44th year as a developer. I’ve had the chance to work on tabletop roleplaying games and board games. I’ve worked on more digital games than I can remember — 17 full games, I think, and 9 or so add-on packs. Gratifyingly, some of those games are still being played 15… 20… 30 years later. And most of them have been in a genre that has had influence beyond what I or anyone else expected. I’ve run teams as small as a dozen and as big as 800. I’ve worked for big companies and done startups. I like to think I’ve helped some insanely talented people along in their careers. (That last is the most important.)”
As for what might be next, Spector spoke about partaking in some of his other hobbies, like catching up on reading, writing his own books, and potentially even playing music. He mentioned that there is still a possibility that he might stay involved with the industry through tangential ways, like guest lecturing and consulting.
“With all that behind me and with age and health (my business) catching up with me, I’m feeling like I’ve done what I set out to do. It’s time to write some books, do a lot of reading, do some lecturing, maybe do some consulting. (Feel free to get in touch about those last two.) Also, there’s a keyboard here just waiting for me to get my piano chops back.”
Interestingly, Spector also mentioned that he still has three specific games that he wants to make. However, with how the industry has changed over the years, he mentioned that “it’s just not as much fun for me anymore. Plus there’s a new generation of developers coming up who deserve their time in the sun.”
“To all of you reading this, I want you to remember that games are not a solved problem yet — there is, I hope, plenty of experimentation and innovation to come. And to all you young developers out there, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, your job is to make people forget people like me ever existed.”
“Will I come back? Never say never. But I think it’s time to ride off into the sunset.”
