Gearbox Publishing boss John Vignocchi is leaving the company after only seven months to pursue a “dream job” opportunity.
The former Disney Infinity executive joined Gearbox last October but hadn’t even spent a year at the studio before announcing his leave for greater things. His departure precedes the launch of Borderlands 3 this October.
While remaining coy on where he’s headed, Vignocchi is excited to be taking on a “dream job at [his] favourite company in the industry.” He revealed the news via Twitter earlier this week.
‼️BIG NEWS ‼️
— John Vignocchi (@JohnVignocchi) May 25, 2019
Here we go! ☺️ pic.twitter.com/PVLsKZJNW9
There are no hard feelings, as Vignocchi praised CEO Randy Pitchford and head of publishing Steve Gibson for supporting his decision and celebrating their ability to "bring out the passion and excellence of all the amazing developers" at Gearbox.
"They understood and encouraged me to take this role as it is truly a once-in-a-lifetime gig," said Vignocchi.
The departing executive had nothing but kind words to say about Gearbox's working culture and its supportive CEO.
However, Pitchford has courted controversy this year, from recently tweeting videos of animal abuse to being caught in a legal battle surrounding a former employee and a USB stick filled with trade secrets and (allegedly) child pornography.