Senior Audio Director and Lead Composer Russell "Hordeland" Brower Leaves Blizzard

Blizzard Posted 2017/07/21 at 4:45 AM by perculia

Legion musicWords and Music By...ClassicBurning CrusadeWrath of the Lich KingCataclysmMists of PandariaWarlords of Draenor

Blizzard

To anyone familiar with my work at #Blizzard,

It’s with a heavy heart that I post this status update, but as they say, “all good things…”

I’m extremely proud of the amazingly talented team I helped build and the creative output we’ve accomplished together over these past 12 years. As the company has grown, the topography of the Sound team has adjusted accordingly, and the last couple of years have been no exception. With the success of a “sound de-centralization” initiative, my current position of overall Sr. Audio Director/Composer is no longer relevant and is being eliminated.

Today is my last day, though there is an excellent chance I will continue to contribute to Blizzard’s projects as a freelance composer. Obviously, I have a lot to figure out, so I do not have any further information to share as to what I will be doing next….yet. (Except for my solo album— that is well under way; stay tuned!)

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to EVERYONE reading this: all of our Players, Music Lovers, and the countless new friends I’ve made worldwide, for the incredible and indelible life experiences I have enjoyed while at Blizzard. Especially the Players— each of you have truly enriched our lives by playing our games, meeting us at #BlizzCon and #Nerdtacular, attending our music concerts the world over, enjoying our soundtrack albums and sheet music— the list goes on and on. We have so much to be proud of and I am truly grateful to each of you and to all my Blizzard colleagues for putting up with me over the last 12 years and teaching me so much.

I look forward to staying in touch with ALL of you, be it here on FaceBook, Twitter (handle-change coming up), and at future concerts (actually I have several #VGL shows still to come this year in Europe, China and Brazil.)
WATCH THIS SPACE for news of my solo album, the first track of which I just recorded in June with 51 of the FINEST studio musicians in Los Angeles!!! #AFM #Local47 FTW!

Wishing each of you all my best, with tons of gratitude,

Russell Brower
a.k.a. RB

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Comment by Sielinthoh no the ship is sinking! panic!

on another note I'm curious what exactly is the details of this “sound de-centralization” initiativeComment by megablastHe is one of my favorite game composers of all time. I really hope that he will keep composing for all Blizzard games. They'll be crazy not to keep him around.Comment by DeployedIt's a shame that initiative didn't find a way to re-position Brower instead of removing his role entirely. It may well be the case that various positions were offered to him, but he didn't feel comfortable with any of them and was even looking forward towards looking outwards from Blizzard and even saw this redundancy as an opportunity.

Lets hope VGL doesn't decrease their interest in using him now he is no longer attached to a game studio. They don't seem to have that attitude, so hopefully not.Comment by BelzinhaRJVery sad. :(

Great loss.Comment by solithaRussell Brower was the only person we felt up to approaching at a BlizzCon Charity Dinner. I've spoken to him momentarily more than once; he's always very friendly and welcoming. Not to mention that amazing composer's hair he's got :)

Sad to hear he's no longer with Blizzard, and I hope this initiative maintains the music quality. I'll be interested in seeing the direction Russell takes from here.Comment by cinderstormoh this makes me so darn sad.Comment by RaizeenWelcome to globalisation. The cancer disease of the worldComment by thebdc"Leaves Blizzard"? Sounds more like he got fired.Comment by Deihjan
on another note I'm curious what exactly is the details of this “sound de-centralization” initiativeComment by Soeroah"Leaves Blizzard"? Sounds more like he got fired.Comment by SiorraOne of World of Warcraft's finer details has always been its music. It's taken for granted so often yet is entirely recognisable. Russell should be highley awarded for his work over the years with Blizzard, and I hope they will continue to work together - whether he's under the Blizzard name or not.

Best of luck RB.Comment by SaffiosiaAnother victim of "shareholder value" ?
I can imagine they only need music composers for new content, so maybe hiring them project based is cheaper.
Furthermore is guess they need more localized themed music for the asian market.
On the other hand there is a saying, "never break a winning TEAM".

The world as always is changing.......but it sure speeds up lately (or I'm getting old;)Comment by bluspacecow
on another note I'm curious what exactly is the details of this “sound de-centralization” initiativeComment by ClasscMalcontentYou can tell from the tone that he is doing the best he can under the circumstances of essentially being let go. In Corporate-speak, 'decentralization' is a way of saying departmental elimination. They 'decentralize', i.e. eliminate departments and/or positions, and then shift to 'outsourcing' via short term contracts. It hints at cost reductions and a shift away from full time musical staff.

Hopefully he is able to make his direct-sales dreams come true. On the bright side, at least he is now free to market musical scores for other gaming or non-gaming purposes. Here's to hoping he can make the best of a politically correct, corporate speak, cost cutting reduction in staff. I wish him well. We have or will all be there at one time or another. Best of luck to Russell Brower.Comment by BarhahI like the Amazon link to third-party sellers listing the original soundtrack from $70 to double that. Wake me when there's a digital option.

IMPERSONAL UNCHECKED LINKS ASIDE man, it was a mistake not bending over backwards to keep this guy. He's the sound of WoW!Comment by AikoTMOh noes! :(
That really makes me sad. I love his music!
WoW wont be the same without him.. (not knowing how much he is gonna be involved in the future)Comment by GinganinjaqtThis sounds like a huge loss to me. I always loved the music. Thinking back to The Barrens soundtracks makes me happy.Comment by OoppaI will continue to contribute to Blizzard’s projects as a freelance composerThe work he's done is amazing. Thank you Russell!Comment by deathslovermaybe we will get some better music nao. FFXIV:ARR has the best music farComment by LeryThe title of the post is wrong wowhead team. He was laid off, he did not leave. His job was outsourced to a consulting company.

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