Dave Kosak, father of Patches the Pirate, has left Blizzard.
In an announcement last night on his Twitter account, Dave tweeted that recently left and has moved onto a new studio named Deviation Games as their Creative Director.
Quote From Dave Kosak Big announcement time! After 12 remarkable years and countless adventures, I am moving on from Blizzard Entertainment. The other week I bid a fond farewell to the orc, who is dutifully wearing his mask. I will very much miss all of my Blizzard colleagues.
If you follow me because of #Hearthstone, no need to worry! Last week we announced a great expansion, a new mode, and new progression/rewards. Believe me when I say that’s only the beginning. Great things are in the works!
And, of course, #Shadowlands is around the corner for #WorldofWarcraft. I will be adventuring right alongside you. I am honored to have contributed to the Warcraft universe, and excited for what’s to come.
What’s next for me? I’m pleased to announce that I’ve taken on an important role at @DeviationGames! We are building… something secret. But amazing. I can’t say any more, but I promise: It’ll make you go “Whoa.”
During his time at Blizzard, Dave worked on World of Warcraft during his entire 12-year span at the company while contributing to Hearthstone as a Narrative and Lead Mission designer for the past 4 years. On the World of Warcraft side, he took on the titles which include Quest Designer, Lead Quest Designer, and Lead Narrative Designer.
Dave will always be remembered by the Hearthstone community as the lovable goof during announcement videos for new Hearthstone sets. Dave brought a special excitement to the videos, much like Ben Brode did.
His last Hearthstone announcement appearance was in the Madness at the Darkmoon Faire trailer.
Farewell Dave, your energy will be missed by the Hearthstone community and we wish you the best!
Origin of Patches the Pirate
Shortly before joining the Hearthstone team, Dave was in on a brainstorming session where Patches was conceived.
Quote From Matt Place We were brainstorming some ideas for pirates, and Dave Kosak—he’s worked on WoW since the beginning—came up with this pirate who’s a beholder, which was hilarious to all of us in the room. The idea he has more eyepatches than most pirates even have eyes. It all came together so perfectly. I love the voice lines. Patches says ‘Aye aye!’ when he attacks. He probably should have said ‘Aye aye aye aye aye!
Quote From Dave Kosak did you come up w/ Patches the Pirate before you were technically on the Hearthstone team, or was that one of your first acts? :P
I was in some brainstorming sessions before being a formal part of the team. Blizzard is a close family!
Comments
While I'm happy for Dave and his new venture I'm personally a little disappointed. Is there anyone up to Dave or Brode's calibre for future announcement streams?
Also, are there any of the OG crowd still around anymore? Is it just Iksar?
Max Ma is still on the team! (Lead on UI/UX) He joined earlyish in 2014. No one from the very beginning is there though iirc
Edit: I don't know why I thought your comment had originally mentioned Dean Ayala, but he is still there too and joined around the same time Max did.
@FluxFlashor, thanks for the heads up. I asked this because Bellurar mentioned it in one of WoW-videos, since there are so many spin-off studios in Orange County at the moment.. But I think this braindrain only happened to Starcraft as there was none when Brode left the Hearthstoneteam. I think Hearthstone is in a very good shape at the moment.
I think it is a choice between the freedom you have by workin at a spin-off studio and the honour to work at the massive games Blizzard makes. Someone left the Starcraftteam because Blizzard did not allow the development of a new RTS-IP, which is completely understable when you have monuments like WoW and Starcraft.
sad, he was one of the few ppl from the dev team that could actually perform in those announcement videos with his goofy act. but i guess new blood is always required in this projects plus he seems to be going on one of his own. good luck
Those are some big shoes to fill, especially for the announcement videos. Good luck with your future endeavors, Dave!
Madness..
whispers... "at the Dark Moon Faire"
:D
All the best for the future, Dave. I loved watching you in all of the announcement videos, you brought such fun and life to Hearthstone and I hope you continue to do the same in your new career
Well, looks like many from the old blizz are going off. Then again he has been there for 12 years so I guess its time to go?
I always kinda assumed he was the face of hearthstone after Ben Brode left the team. So who's going to be the new face now?
They should make Kibler part of the design team. He'd be the perfect face for hearthstone
Pretty sure he doesn't want the job. I'm certain he could have it if he asked.
He will be missed! I really enjoyed watching the Boomsday video because of his hammy acting.
How long can this go on?
It's a madness... :(
... at the Darkmoon Faire
AT THE DARKMOON FAIR! *sobs quietly*
Madness? NO, THIS IS SPARTA!!!