It is a sad, sad day.

[Spevna]

http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthrea ... ost5091184

I would like to know more about this. If it is true, it is indeed sad news.

[Mike the Pike]

Wow! That IS big news. 'tis definitely a sad, sad day. Who's next? JJ?

[Primarch]

But who is going to replace him? Matt Ward? #shudder#

It would be nice to know if he left or if he was pushed. If the latter it seems like a bad move by GW.

[Spevna]

Yep, sad indeed. I hope he wasn't pushed but I wouldn't be surprised if he was. They may have even created an environment that he could no longer work in.

Either way, I'm sure more news will pop up soon.

[The Other Dave]

How involved has RP actually been with the recent (well, meaning the past 10 years, give or take) workings of the company, though? It was sort of my impression that they kept him around and let him fiddle with Warmaster to his heart's content, but I wasn't aware he was too active in development of the "big two" games recently. (I could be wrong, of course.)

[Spevna]

I think you are right. I don't think he does much in regards to the main two games. But since there would be neither of the two big games without him, he should be ( or have been) given a lifetime position with the company.

[me_in_japan]

I suppose the question is "why would he want a lifetime position with the company?"

I mean, job security aside, the miniature wargaming marketplace is a very different one to what it was 25 years ago when Rick was forging bravely ahead of the pack. Now, if he wants to (and well he might) he can up sticks and leave GW, say "Im Rick Priestley - anybody looking for a game designer?" and name his price. Who's to say he didnt make some demands of GW, they said "sorry Rick, we cant do that" and he said "fine then, I'm off to find someone who can."?

basically, we dont know what actually happened, other than that he's offski. Hats off in a show of respect, and I wish him all the best, but warhammer fantasy and 40k have had very little to do with him for several years now, so they will continue much as they have been. With Rick away from GW, it means he's free to join another company/start his own/whatever, which is basically a good thing for us gamers, as it means he'll be back in the driving seat, which he clearly hasnt been for some time at GW.

[Spevna]

I suppose the question is "why would he want a lifetime position with the company?"

I mean, job security aside, the miniature wargaming marketplace is a very different one to what it was 25 years ago when Rick was forging bravely ahead of the pack. Now, if he wants to (and well he might) he can up sticks and leave GW, say "Im Rick Priestley - anybody looking for a game designer?" and name his price. Who's to say he didnt make some demands of GW, they said "sorry Rick, we cant do that" and he said "fine then, I'm off to find someone who can."?

basically, we dont know what actually happened, other than that he's offski. Hats off in a show of respect, and I wish him all the best, but warhammer fantasy and 40k have had very little to do with him for several years now, so they will continue much as they have been. With Rick away from GW, it means he's free to join another company/start his own/whatever, which is basically a good thing for us gamers, as it means he'll be back in the driving seat, which he clearly hasnt been for some time at GW.

All fair points mate. Maybe it's nostalgia kicking in or just my hatred for GW rearing it's ugly head, but I can't imagine him wanting to leave for just money. He could've done that a while ago. I would like to know more about it and the timing though because, as you said, we don't actually know what happened.

[me_in_japan]

I agree - i strongly suspect he chose to leave for creative reasons. No reason particularly, just my gut instinct. Money was never gonna be a reason for him to leave if he loved his job (i mean, he didnt start it forthe money, thats for sure), so I reckon there's either something he wants to do very much that they wont let him, or theyve had to shut down one of his pet projects for boring money related reasons, and hes taken it personally. I very much doubt they sacked him, as I cant imagine him giving them enough hassle to make em do so, and as has been mentioned, simply having him on the payroll makes the company look good.

[Lovejoy]

Priestley seems to have lots of other historical irons in the fire by the looks of it with warlord games, just search his name on that site and you'll find ample testament to the depth of his involvement. He wrote the Black Powder ruleset and that's gotten good feedback and is currently being retooled for other genres (ancient warfare I reckon). Perhaps its just that historicals are where his heart lies now and he wants to commit more fully in that field. There needn't be some huge GW conspiracy behind it.