One of the most important elements of a video game is the staff who help bring it to life, which means that saying goodbye to key staff members can be quite difficult for some fans. Apex Legends director Chad Grenier has officially left Respawn Entertainment, the company that he helped form back in 2010. After over a decade of work at the company and helping to determine the shape of what Apex Legends would become, he will be stepping down in favor of Steven Ferreira.
Chad Grenier left a note to fans of Apex Legends on the game's website, where he says his farewells to the team and to the game's fanbase. Although he's quite vague about the specifics of his departure, he expresses his confidence that the developers still working on Apex Legends will be able to thrive and succeed even in his absence.
The departure of a director can often have a negative impact on a property, but fans may find Chad Grenier's faith in Respawn Entertainment heartening. However, it should be noted that although he thanks Respawn Entertainment founder Vince Zampella for supporting him and states that he feels like a child leaving the nest, Chad Grenier's farewell letter and accompanying tweet do not actually state why he's leaving the company. Apex Legends is now in Season 11, which has so far been an improvement over Season 10, and Chad Grenier has been director of the game since mid-2019.
Although Chad Grenier was only the director of Apex Legends for a couple of years, in his tenure at Respawn Entertainment he helped bring the universe of Titanfall to life. In his tweet, he wishes everyone at Respawn the best, and in his farewell note, he states that he will always bring his experiences at Respawn Entertainment forward. However, at no point does he mention where he plans to go after leaving the company.
Interestingly, Chad Grenier's replacement Steven Ferreira became a lead on the Apex Legends team shortly after launch in June 2019 and has reportedly been Chad Grenier's right hand ever since. Chad Grenier's farewell note states that Respawn has always believed in a connection between new leadership and new team members and new ideas, new energy, and new innovations. He goes on to state that he believes Steven Ferreira's contributions embody this method.
Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.