blizzard Micky Neilson is Leaving Blizzard!

[Valks 2,373]

After spending over 22 years at the company, Micky Neilson has become a pillar of the Blizzard team. On this sad day, it looks like Neilson has announced his plans to move on from the company this month. Check out some of his work and what he contributed to Blizzard!

 

For those of you that don't know him by name, it's more than likely that you have come across his work at some point in your time of playing Blizzard games. Working as the Lead Writer in Publishing for Blizzard and the Story Lead for Hearthstone in the past, Neilson has helped to expand upon the universes of the games that we love. He has worked on almost every title the company has released, with his expertise touching some of the oldest games, such as The Lost Vikings and Blackthorne. 

 

For World of Warcraft, Neilson has published, or co-published, a number of short stories surrounding the lore of the game. Those written by him include:

• The War of the Shifting Sands (2005) - A story surrounding the war in Silithus. 
• Unbroken (2007) - The valiant tale of the Vindicator turned Farseer, Nobundo. This is my personal favourite, I recommend it to anyone hoping to sample Neilson's work.
• Ashbringer (2008) - A 4-part comic series that told the story of the Ashbringer and its former master, Alexandros Morgraine.
• Curse of the Worgen (2010) - A 5-part comic series that looks into the history of Gilneas and the curse that took hold. 
• Pearl of Pandaria (2012) - A graphic novel that looks at the beauty and hardships of Pandaria prior to the mists clearing.
• Blood of the Highborne (2013) - A novella that focuses on the creation of the Blood Knights, a set of Paladins sworn to follow Lady Liadrin.
• Gul'dan and the Stranger (2014) - A comic that follows the story of Garrosh meeting with Gul'dan, prior to the moment Mannoroth's blood is drunk by the orcs.

In light of the recent information, Terran Gregory also came forward to say that Neilson wrote the script for the Black Temple trailer over on Twitter.

 

 

His most recent work will be released later this year, in which he looks at the story behind the early days of Overwatch. A graphic novel will be released written by Neilson, showcasing the stories of heroes such as Reinhardt, Reaper, Soldier: 76 and many more! 

 

In his goodbye post, Neilson alluded to the fact that he will still be working with Blizzard on certain freelance projects, so hopefully we will see more of his fantastic work. Take a look below at what he had to say:

 

Extract from Newsletter

 

After 22 years, I’m leaving Blizzard.

 

The time has come for me to pursue personal projects that I love. I’ll be moving from California to Washington State. My last day at Blizzard will be March 25th.

 

I look forward to working with Blizzard on freelance projects, one of which will be announced shortly. Aside from that, my upcoming works might include more game-related writing, script writing, consultation…and most certainly, novels. All of which will be announced and discussed right here in this newsletter, once a month

 

I spent some of the best years of my life at Blizzard. It’s a bittersweet departure to say the least. But I’m excited for all the opportunities that lie ahead!

 

So…there you have it, the big news. Thank you all for your continued support!!

 

 

If you'd like to keep up with his work in the future, you can always check out his website or Twitter. He has a monthly newsletter, as well as a number of side projects, including a supernatural-horror book that you can check out on WattPad.

 

We can only wish Micky the best of luck and pray that he finds success in whatever he does in the future. I know that I will be praying that we can see more of his work in the Blizzard universes!