After twenty long years, beloved game designer Cliff Bleszinski has announced his departure from Epic Games. Best known for his development history on Jazz Jackrabbit, Unreal Tournament and of course Gears of War, Cliff was considered one of the industry’s biggest luminaries and having helping the third person shooter genre move forward.

“I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop. I literally grew up in this business, as Mike likes to say. And now that I’m grown up, it’s time for a much needed break,” said Cliff Bleszinski.

It’s said he is perusing the next stage in his career, but whatever it may be we wish him only the best and hope to see him back in the game after his well deserved rest. For more on Cliff’s departure, head over to Epic Games’ blog to read the entire announcement and all the positive words his colleagues had to say.