Blizzard Senior Art Director Samwise Didier Retires After 30+ Years With The Company

One of Blizzard’s most notable signatures is its World of WarCraft artstyle, which was made and established by the company’s senior art director Samwise Didier. He will be calling it quits after 32 years with the company.

His career has lasted with Blizzard since 1991 and has been very instrumental in how WarCraft and other Blizzard titles have looked since then, up until now. Here is his retirement speech, thanking Blizzard for his historical career which started with The Lost Vikings (yes, he’s been there).

“Blizzard was never just a job for me. I joined the company in 1991 and it immediately became my second home. I found out I had a family that I didn’t even know I had!

I grew up there. I learned almost everything I know about art there. I learned how to use a computer (I only knew Atari 2600 and Nintendo), I learned how to use Photoshop, I learned how to create UI and make thousands of buttons. I learned how to create 3D models of my art, how to texture and animate them, and even make them shoot fireballs or lasers. I got to see my art come to life! Hell, I even joined my first band at Blizzard. And to top it all off, I got to work on some of the greatest games this here ol’ world has ever known.”

What lies beyond the storm? pic.twitter.com/iQh9B2DLBZ

— Sam Are I (@SamwiseDidier) November 10, 2023

You can check out his artworks and videos on ABC with Samwise.