Dead Space creator Glen Schofield has announced his retirement from the “day to day work” of the gaming industry.
Schofield took to LinkedIn to break the news with an emotional video, thanking his fans, colleagues, and the industry for supporting him throughout his career. He also took a moment to acknowledge that, although the industry is experiencing a lot of hardships right now, there are still great minds making great games.
Schofield didn’t give an explicit reason for his retirement, but he has had a successful 35-year run in the industry. After beginning as an artist, Schofield climbed the ranks before becoming a producer at EA, where he contributed to James Bond and Lord of the Rings games. After his work on Bond, EA gave him the freedom to create a brand-new IP: Dead Space. With the team at Visceral Games, Schofield built one of the scariest video games ever created, and its impact has had a lasting ripple effect. Although it took inspiration from titles like Resident Evil, it was fresh, unique, and most importantly, utterly terrifying.
Following the game’s success, Activision recruited Schofield to co-found Sledgehammer Games with his Visceral Games colleague, Michael Condrey. The two worked on a third-person Call of Duty game set in Vietnam for six months before eventually being asked to help co-develop Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 after Infinity Ward imploded in 2010. Despite being very new to the franchise as a creative, Sledgehammer Games helped Infinity Ward deliver a highly successful trilogy capper that also solidified Sledgehammer as one of the core Call of Duty teams.
Schofield went on to lead the development on the innovative, though notably divisive Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare before taking the franchise back to its roots with Call of Duty: WWII in 2017. Schofield eventually departed from Sledgehammer and went back to his own roots with The Callisto Protocol, a Dead Space-inspired sci-fi horror game. It was the last game Schofield helmed, though he made efforts to pitch a fourth Dead Space game to EA around the time of the 2023 remake of the first game.
Schofield contributed a lot to the gaming industry through not only his games, but also his desire to let creativity triumph. His contributions will be missed, but his impact will be felt for years to come.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.