WoWJun 9, 2015 11:07 am CT

Blizzard’s Paul Sams now CEO at Ready at Dawn [Updated]

Paul Sams, formerly Chief Operations Officer at Blizzard (check out his LinkedIn profile if you want to get an idea of the many, many hats he wore in his nearly 20 years at Blizzard) is now the CEO at Ready at Dawn, the developers behind The Order: 1886. I’ll admit, I didn’t even know Sams had left Blizzard before running into this announcement, though he parted apparently ways with the company in April. It’s the second big name loss for Blizzard in the past year, with Rob Pardo leaving the company last summer and recently joined Unity.

But what’s Blizzard’s loss is Ready at Dawn’s gain. Sams has 19 years of experience managing intellectual properties and has been involved in the Diablo, StarCraft, and Warcraft franchises as they’ve grown, as well as newcomers Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm. One of Ready at Dawn’s biggest problems seems to be dealing with IP like The Order: 1886 — the game’s mixed reviews at launch criticized not its production but its gameplay. Sams’ emphasis on gameplay and on the ownership of IP (both of which served Blizzard well over the years) seem like a very good fit for Ready at Dawn going forward.

It’ll be interesting to see how Sams deals with entities like Sony and other big publishers (who often want to own the IP) going forward. Definitely big big news for Ready at Dawn and gaming in general. Check out the interview with Sams and Ru Weerasuriya of Ready at Dawn for all the details.

Update: Sams posted the following comment on Blizzard’s forums regarding his departure.

Originally Posted by Paul Sams (Official Post)

First, yes, this is really Paul Sams, former COO of Blizzard. I am posting to clarify that I have immense loyalty to Blizzard, and it pains me to see my name associated with posts criticizing the company. I would never leave Blizzard unless I fully was confident the company was healthy and well poised for continued success. I have had the privilege of working at Blizzard for nearly 20 years, and Blizzard has given me everything I have in life and taught me everything I know about the video game industry. I even met my wife at Blizzard. Last year, we made the family decision to return to my wife’s home state of Texas. It’s as simple as that. I want to watch my boys play high school football, be near my daughter who attends University of Texas and enjoy the great city of Austin. Not only that, I want to be able to support the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy at UT more as well. My opportunity to work with my friends at Ready at Dawn is fortuitous and allows me to continue my work in the industry I love while living in the place I love with the people I love. Not many people get an opportunity to enjoy that trifecta in life. I feel blessed and am fully aware that Blizzard paved this road. The fact that I am proud and excited to now work at Ready at Dawn in no way diminishes my love and respect for my dear friends and colleagues at Blizzard.

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