Lightforge Games: Ex-Blizzard Employees Want RPG Revolution

Lightforge Games: Ex-Blizzard Employees Want RPG Revolution

Lightforge Games

Most of you may not have heard the name Lightforge Games before. This is no wonder, because it is a very young development studio that has only been around for a short time. The team's founders and employees include many former employees of Epic Games and Blizzard Entertainment. Also on board are Matt Schembari (Epic), Glenn Rane (Blizzard) and Marc Hutcheson (Blizzard and Epic).

The team is already working on a project that is still secret to be a kind of "social video game" in which the users "create their own worlds and tell stories". It looks like the project is leaning towards the RPG genre. In general, Lightforge Games seems to have set itself big goals. Matt Schembari, CEO, says on the official website:

"We love social, creative games, and most of all we love games where the user drives the story. We want elements of Minecraft and Roblox with them of tabletop RPGs to create a new way of playing role-playing games. Given our background, the obvious choice was to create a game that would revolutionize RPGs. "

These are big words that the Lightforge Games team should soon be translating into action. Further details about the secret project are not yet known. It will probably be a while before we see the first material. The studio is currently looking for more employees.

Source: Lightforge Games




Former Epic and Blizzard devs form Lightforge Games studio

Lightforge Games features veteran talent from games such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Fortnite, and more.


With Blizzard having shed a lot of key talent in recent years due to layoffs and other leavings at the company, a lot of major players have moved into either other major studios, or formed studios of their own. We’ve seen a couple major groups spring up already, but another was just formed from former veterans of Blizzard Entertainment, Epic Games, and more. Lightforge Games has opened its doors as a new studio set to specialize in RPGs and has apparently started on a cross-platform “social videogame.”


Lightforge Games officially came into being just recently, having announced its opening late last week with a new website. The company’s key staff features veteran devs including UI director Matt Schembari from Epic, project manager and producer Nathan Fairbanks from Epic and ZeniMax, former Blizzard content and game designer Bridget Collins, former Blizzard art director Glenn Rane, and former Blizzard and Epic brand manager and marketing director Marc Hutcheson, just to name a few. The team’s credits include work on Overwatch, Fortnite, World of Warcraft, Diablo 4, and The Elder Scrolls Online, just to name a few.


According to Lightforge’s website, the team is also already focused in on a project.


“The team is developing a new cross-platform, social video game where players have the power to create worlds and tell stories with unprecedented freedom,” the studio announcement claims.


Moreover, a core tenant of the studio is that it is an entirely all-remote studio which favors employee comfort and personal situations as staff delivery their work. In this way, Lightforge acts similar to models such as Tripwire’s recently announced choice-driven work model that allows on-site, remote, or hybrid work.


Lightforge Games joins a couple further ex-Blizzard studios and publishers that have come to life over the past year, including Dreamhaven, headed up by former Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime, and Frost Giant Studios, which is comprised of further former Blizzard talent continuing a effort in real-time strategy games. With Lightforge bringing further talent together in another new setting, it will be interesting to see what it’s got up its sleeve. As we await the fruits of all of these new studios and publishers, stay tuned for further news and updates here at Shacknews.


TJ Denzer is a player with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. When he's not handing out beatdowns in the latest fighting games, exploring video game history, or playing through RPGs with his partner, he's searching for new food and drinks in the constant pursuit of good times with good people inside and outside the South Texas area. You can also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.