Deus Ex creator Warren Spector has announced his retirement after over forty years in game development.
Spector announced his decision on LinkedIn, writing that while he’d been down this road before and then changed his mind, he’s pretty certain this time.
“The reasons to retire are simple: I’m a month away from my 44th year as a developer,” he wrote. “I’ve had the chance to work on tabletop roleplaying games and board games. I’ve worked on more digital games than I can remember – 17 full games, I think, and nine or so add-on packs.”
Spector joined Origin Systems in 1989, where he co-produced Ultima 6 and Wing Commander. He later created the Deus Ex series at Ion Storm, contributed to the Thief series, worked on Ultima Underworld at Looking Glass, and founded Junction Point Studios, the developer of Epic Mickey.
In 2016, he joined OtherSide Entertainment, where he oversaw the development of System Shock 3 and Underworld Ascendant.
“Gratifyingly, some of those games are still being played 15… 20… 30 years later,” Spector wrote. “And most of them have been in a genre that has had influence beyond what I or anyone else expected. I’ve run teams as small as a dozen and as big as 800. I’ve worked for big companies and done startups. I like to think I’ve helped some insanely talented people along in their careers. (That last is the most important.)”
He continued: “With all that behind me and with age and health (my business) catching up with me I’m feeling like I’ve done what I set out to do. It’s time to write some books, do a lot of reading, do some lecturing, maybe do some consulting.”
Spector acknowledged having “mixed feelings” about retirement, noting that changes in the industry and a decline in personal enjoyment influenced his decision. He added, “Plus there’s a new generation of developers coming up who deserve their time in the sun.”
“I want you to remember that games are not a solved problem yet – there is, I hope, plenty of experimentation and innovation to come. And to all you young developers out there, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, your job is to make people forget people like me ever existed.
“Will I come back? Never say never. But I think it’s time to ride off into the sunset.”