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After heading up development of Diablo III over the last seven years, Jay Wilson has announced that he will be stepping down from the role to pursue other creative opportunities within Blizzard. In his farewell letter, Wilson assured Diablo III fans that the move would not negatively impact Blizzard’s support for the game.

The first thing I want to assure you all is that this will not negatively impact our ongoing support of Diablo III. The game was not made by one person, far from it, and the team that poured their passion and considerable talent into it isn't going anywhere. We have lots of things planned for the future, and those plans will carry forward as normal. I also won't be abandoning the team, and will remain available to them during the transition period while we determine who will take over duties as game director.

Wilson admitted that he has had his share of differences with the community but admits that he will miss the community of people that have formed around Diablo III. And while he admits that while the game may not have released in the “when it’s ready” state that was seemingly the response to any inquiry about the game prior to launch, Wilson feels that the team has made every effort to address post-launch concerns.

This is what you can always count on from Blizzard: that we will stand by our games and make every effort to continually improve them over time. We heard the feedback and suggestions from the community. For example, we agreed that Diablo III's itemization at launch was not good enough, so the team made numerous changes, including changing drop rates, re-tuning legendaries, and adding scores of new items to the game. We also agreed that the end game needed more depth, so the team added new events, and new systems like Monster Power and Paragon levels. 

Wilson’s replacement has not been announced as of yet, but he did note that a job posting may appear on the Blizzard website soon, so if you’re looking for a job in the industry and have the qualifications to fill the spot, you may want to keep your eyes open.

It’s unclear what Wilson will be working on next, but Blizzard has a few projects in development such as the third entry of StarCraft II for the Protoss, the secretive Project Titan, and whatever Project Blackstone might be. In any case, we would like to wish Jay Wilson the best in his future endeavors.

Source: Jay Wilson’s Letter