Ron Gilbert leaves Hothead Games
Monkey Island creator exits studio as DeathSpank nears completion
Renowned US developer Ron Gilbert has announced his departure from Hothead Games, although he has given no indication of why or what his future plans in the industry might be.
Writing in a short entry on his Grumpy Gamer blog, Gilbert indicated that he had already left Hothead and that new title DeathSpank has only its certification and testing phase to complete.
Gilbert is best known as the lead designer on the first two Monkey Island graphic adventures, as well as earlier LucasArts titles such as Maniac Mansion, Zack McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
After leaving LucasArts in 1992 Gilbert co-founded Humongous Entertainment and worked on a number of children's titles. He subsequently left to co-found Hulabee Entertainment and then eventually became creative director at Hothead.
His first published, adult-orientated, titles for over a decade were the two Penny Arcade Adventures downloadable games, although disappointing sales led to the company abandoning plans for a third entry and focusing on new title DeathSpank.
DeathSpank is also a download-only title and was recently picked up by publisher EA Partners. Gilbert has indicated that he will be "working closely with EA and Hothead on the PR for DeathSpank".