One of the recognizable faces at developer Bungie who worked as Raid Lead onDestiny 2is moving to a new position at the developer to take on “broader challenges.”
Joe Blackburn has become a common sight in Bungie’s ViDocs and live streams, during which he talks about the game’s pinnacle PvE activity, raids. While Blackburn headed up the raid team forDestiny 2, he announced on Twitter that he is moving away from that team as he has been promoted to a Design Lead at Bungie.
In the wake of the overwhelmingly positive reception tothe Last Wish raid, the news that he is moving away from the raid team sent ripples through the hardcore fanbase. Blackburn clarified on Twitter that he is still going to be working on theDestinyfranchise and that Design Lead is the title Bungie gives to its many lead designers. Other Design Leads at Bungie range in disciplines from game designers to UI artists to investment designers.
It’s unknown whether Blackburn will stay onDestiny 2as it moves into its second year of life with a group of DLC offerings coming in the game’s Annual Pass, or if he’s working on a third year forDestiny 2, or even onDestiny 3, which is rumored to currently be in development.
The raid team has seemed to be a stepping stone for its members' success at Bungie, starting with the first director of the raid team forDestiny 1,Luke Smith, who eventually became the Creative Director ofDestiny 1: The Taken KingandDestiny 2. Blackburn was last seen as part of Bungie’s latest “Raid Along,” during which he talked about the Last Wish raid while other employees at Bungie played through the game’s newest raid. It wouldn’t be a surprise to still hear from Blackburn in the future, albeit in a different role.
Destiny 2: Forsakenis available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
