Interplay and inXile founder Brian Fargo will retire after Wasteland 3 has shipped in 2019.
The multi-talented designer, producer, programmer, and exec broke the news to Eurogamer in a recent interview, and said he planned to kick back and relax after spending nearly four decades making games.
“Wasteland 2 and Torment both came out great. The Mage’s Tale’s got a great buzz. The Bard’s Tale 4 looks spectacular. Wasteland 3 is building on Wasteland 2. It seems like a good time to drop the mic,” said Fargo.
“I love this industry, but I’ve been at this since 1981. I look at my friends, they have a lot more spare time than I do. It’s a very intense business. It’s all encompassing. It seems like I should relax for a little bit.”
Fargo’s game development journey began in the ’80s when he founded Interplay Entertainment, the studio that gave birth to iconic franchises like Fallout, Baldur’s Gate, and Wasteland.
Despite Interplay’s many successes, the studio ran into financial difficulties during the late ’90s, with rapid expansion, increasing competition, and a lack of viable console titles forcing the firm to seek outside funding.
French game company Titus Software answered the call, but the relationship between the two studios deteriorated fast, and ultimately resulted in Fargo leaving Interplay in 2000.
Two years later, Fargo looked to start fresh with the founding of InXile Entertainment. He’s been working at the studio ever since, delivering (spiritual) sequels to some of his Interplay hits like Wasteland and Planescape by harnessing the power of crowdfunding.
While his departure from Interplay was bittersweet, Fargo says he intends to depart InXile on his own terms, and will ensure the studio has “money in the bank” when he finally steps down.
“I have some wonderfully competent people who are making it happen here,” he added. “One of the things I enjoy the most is finding and fostering talent. Certainly, externally everybody knows we gave Blizzard and Bioware their first shots.
“Internally I have my own guys who are just great. They’re very tuned into these products. I’m good at finding these people and putting the talent together. I’ve been training these people for years to make me obsolete. That’s what you have to do as a leader of a company.”