In a surprising post on the official Champions Online page, it has been announced that Bill Roper has left Cryptic Studios to, as he puts it, "look for new opportunities". Roper had been instrumental in producing Champions Online, struggled with Flagship's Hellgate: London and was the driving force behind Blizzard's Diablo series.

The effort and dedication that has gone into the launching of Champions Online and Star Trek Online, as well as the continued support of these games in the months that followed, shows the passion that everyone here has for the games and our community. And even as verbose as I usually am, I can’t properly express how incredibly inspiring it has been to work with the people here at Cryptic and how much I’ve learned from my time here. Most importantly, I learned a lot from you – our players. In the months and years ahead, I hope to be able to apply that knowledge and continue to create worlds and games that entertain. Thank you all for both the support and the kicks in the ass that have pushed me to constantly evaluate and grow.

Read the full letter here and let us know your thoughts.

Thanks Ramael for the tip.