{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/63b458521043e00011114396/65d2264bd474b900178e226f?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Rod Fergusson, SVP Blizzard Entertainment (Gears of War, Bioshock Infinite, Diablo IV).","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/63b458521043e00011114396/1708270975624-238212c504b4a24a0830bae95102fc97.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>My guest today is Senior Vice-President of <strong>Blizzard Entertainment</strong> and General Manager of the<strong> Diablo</strong> video game series. After attending the University of Ottawa for Computer Science, my guest joined <strong>Microsoft</strong> as a Microsoft Consultant, before he moved to the company’s games division to work titles including <strong>Microsoft Train Simulator</strong>, then the Xbox version of <strong>Counter-Strike</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>In 2005 he joined <strong>Epic Games </strong>where, as a producer, he helped steer the delayed <strong>Gears of War </strong>back on track. After working on the second and third games in that series, <strong>Bulletstorm</strong> and <strong>Infinity Blade</strong>, he soon gained a reputation as a “closer”, someone able to get a blockbuster out of the door.</p><p><br></p><p>My guest then moved to Irrational Games to help finish the troubled <strong>BioShock Infinite</strong>. In 2020, he joined Blizzard to oversee development of the <strong>Diablo</strong> series, the fourth entry to which launched to widespread acclaim in 2023.</p>","author_name":"Simon Parkin"}