The most notable development from the past week involved a high-profile shift at OpenAI. Sam Altman, the director and creator of ChatGPT, left his role at the startup and moved to Microsoft. There, he is expected to contribute to projects with the Mikes and help shape their own AI initiatives. In light of this event, the article revisits where seasoned executives tend to go after reaching a ceiling within their current companies, often seeking new challenges in games, technology, or artificial intelligence. The piece highlights several striking examples from the industry.
Daniel Vavra
The original lead writer behind the Mafia series steered the development of the first game and later influenced the creation of the sequel. His approach to game design drew inspiration from cinema and mid-century literature. For Mafia 2, the studio allocated extra funds, granting greater control and enabling its own adjustments. However, parts of the gameplay and mechanics were developed without his direct involvement, which strained the project. The final product diverged from his vision, and Vavra chose to leave the studio, stating that he no longer wanted to work under others’ direction. A prepared farewell script for Mafia 3 was also rejected by the studio.
Following this, Daniel Vavra established Warhorse Studios, a smaller company. With support from Kickstarter and additional investors, he released Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The title earned recognition as the best Czech game of the decade, and Vavra appeared on the cover of Czech Forbes.
Leslie Benzies
The celebrated figure often called the grandfather of the GTA series led Rockstar North for many years and served as its president. Unlike Vavra, Benzies did not depart the company on his own terms; he was demoted and could not be reinstated.
Rather than winding down, Benzies launched five new studios, including a notable sandbox project called Everywhere, slated for 2023, along with a teaser for an ambitious AAA title MindsEye.
Although it is too early to judge the full impact of these shifts on future GTA installments, the change in leadership at this level suggests potential impacts on the trajectory of GTA 6 and the direction of subsequent titles.
Mateusz Kanik
The veteran designer from CD Projekt RED contributed to The Witcher project and held leadership roles on The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 3. He later became a game director for Cyberpunk 2077. After fifteen years of focused work, he quietly left the company, posting a small note about his departure on social media. The departure stemmed from personal ambition and a desire to pursue independent projects.
Today, Kanik leads a small outfit named Blank. The team has kept details light but promises projects that break free from typical studio constraints and aim to redefine what is possible in gaming.
Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene
The principal designer and director behind PUBG: Battlegrounds previously worked with the Korean publisher Krafton. Greene’s early project, DayZ: Battle Royale, helped crystallize the battle royale concept. The result was PUBG: Battlegrounds, a game shaped by his unbounded imagination and readiness to experiment.
Not every decision found universal support. In 2019, he opposed a move to a free-to-play model, but after his departure the company revisited its strategy and made PUBG: Battlegrounds free to play.
After leaving Krafton, Greene founded PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions to pursue open-world games with a focus on dynamic experiences. The outcomes look promising, though the path to fully realized projects remains lengthy.
Robert Bowling
Formerly with Activision and Infinity Ward, Bowling became a prominent creative strategist and public face of the Duty franchise. He contributed to several Activision titles but found large-scale realization of all ideas financially risky. In 2012 he started Robotoki, aiming to build a new project titled Human Element.
The game was planned for a 2015 release to tell a fresh zombie-survival story, but development stalled and the project has not advanced since. Since then, Bowling has kept a low profile with few major announcements.
In large organizations, layoffs and shifts often follow ambitious dreams or the push to craft something new beyond established policies. Creating a project from scratch is notoriously demanding and tends to take longer than investors expect, which helps explain why truly independent indie studios remain relatively rare in the industry.