Glen Schofield Announces Retirement in Emotional Video: ‘This is an Amazing Industry’

Glen Schofield, co-founder of Sledgehammer Games, former VP at Visceral and Crystal Dynamics, former CEO of Striking Distance Studios, and the creator of Dead Space, has announced his retirement on LinkedIn. The revelation came in the form of a lengthy, emotional video, during which Schofield reminisced on 35 years of growth in what he dubbed ‘an amazing industry.’

In his twilight years in the business, Schofield tried several times to get Electronic Arts to revisit Dead Space in earnest and create ‘Dead Space 4’, but his efforts were never successful. You can see his full retirement video below.

Glen Schofield Has Hung Up The Day-to-Day

In his four-minute retirement video posted today on social media, Glen Schofield, a veteran with almost four decades in the industry, said:

After 35 years of making games and directing them, running teams, it’s time for me to officially retire from the day-to-day work. It has been such an amazing career and I have so many people to thank for it.

To my close friends and family, and people who have stood by me, patted me on the back, listened to my crazy ideas, thank you so much. To the fans, you’ve supported me, you’ve let mine and my teams’ games into your homes. You told me when I was good and you told me when I wasn’t so good.

But you made me better. Thank you so much.

Schofield went on a brief stroll down memory lane, reflecting on the ‘greatest talent in the world’ that he worked with over the years, piecing together some of the most impactful games and studios we’ve ever seen.

As he said, ‘I had a front row seat to one of the most creative explosions in history.’

His run in the latter years of his career wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. At Striking Distance, he released The Callisto Protocol, a spiritual successor to Dead Space, but it wasn’t a huge success, and he was forced to depart the studio he’d co-founded.

Towards the end of the video, Schofield left viewers with a touching message:

This is an amazing industry, with so many talented people. I know times are tough right now, but man, the future ahead is really, really bright.

I wish you all, the next generation of game makers, the best of luck. Explore, experiment, enjoy, and don’t forget that the most important thing is the idea.

Are you surprised to see Glen Schofield retiring from making games? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.

For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the sad Dying Light: The Beast news, and for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter