After four years on the World of Warcraft team, Senior Game Designer Patrick “Scarizard” Scarborough has officially left Blizzard. And no, it wasn’t because of the dinar system.
In a series of posts on X, Scarizard opened up about the real reason behind his departure: burnout. Not drama, no patch politics, just the toll of having to adjust your life to a patch release schedule.
It Wasn’t About the Dinar System
When Scarizard announced his departure, the community immediately started speculating it was tied to the dinar system, the limited-time vendor currency that lets players target raid loot, assuming player backlash might have played a role.
But Scarizard shut that down fast.
He added that he was never part of class balance decisions in a major way and dispelled all community rumors about the departure being tied to the dinar system, which he helped design.
The Real Reason: Burnout
The truth, as he posted shortly after, is far more relatable: burnout and mental health.
“I don’t have anything lined up. There’s no announcement of an announcement. This was all for burnout/mental health reasons and needing to give myself space to actually imagine a future not tied to a patch schedule.”
This goes to show the grind many devs face in live service games, where patch releases often rule not just the players, but often the developers too!
What’s Next for Scarizard?
Scarizard plans to start streaming again just for fun. Be sure to check out his stream!
We wish him all the best in his future endeavors!
