On May 12th, TenTonHammer reported that Dan Elggren, the Studio head at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment (Firesky) and one of the leading developers of Stargate Worlds, had left the company.
They gleaned this announcement from a personal blog posted by Elggren's wife where she wrote that her husband was leaving the company. In it she wrote that "Over 100 employees have left since October, so Dan felt he was as loyal as he possibly could be considering that he was basically volunteering for work and not getting paid! It's such a shame, because the game he's been working on for over three years was within several months of being ready to ship!"
Elggren, again according to the blog, starts work with Gazillion (who, among other studios, owns NetDevil the company developing Jumpgate Evolution) on June the 1st.
Since that story, the original blog has been locked and is now only available on an invite only basis.
Today, MMORPG.com spoke to Firesky's Kevin Ballentine about the news:
"While we are saddened by Dan's departure, we believe that Stargate Worlds will benefit from this unforeseen change. Dan's guidance has been crucial to getting Stargate Worlds to this point, but we believe fresh eyes may find ways to improve the game moving forward. We wish to express our appreciation to Dan for all he has done for our company and wish him the best of success in his new endeavors. Dan will be transitioning his responsibilities to Rod Nakamoto, senior vice president of product development, over the next week.
;)
"Rod has 25 years of industry experience and is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead. Rod has the right experience and vision to lead this team to the finish line.
"We wish both Rod and Dan success in their new responsibilities."
In a post on the official Stargate Worlds forums, Elggren expressed his belief that Stargate Worlds still "has a chance" to ship.
Speaking directly to the blog which prematurely leaked notice of his departure, Elggren said that:
"My wife is just sick about those that saw her blog. This was not meant to cause problems and is usually only read by close friends and family. We certainly hold no ill feelings towards CME. The number of 100 employees leaving is not accurate. When you have good friends leave, it is always a bigger deal and is hard to see that happen. Now that we have made the decision to move, my wife and kids now have to leave a lot of friends and family in the area of Gilbert and Mesa, Arizona as well as those we will miss at the office. It's always difficult to start over and I am just glad she is now looking forward to the new opportunity. "
Additionally, Firesky had no comment on the progress of the financial negotiation first reported in early April. Negotiations are ongoing.
