Ben Brode promoted to Hearthstone game director

For those of you who haven’t heard of this legend, or at least his laugh, Ben Brode has been a part of Blizzard Entertainment since roughly 2002. He was first introduced to the business, of all things, while delivering pizza, when Blizzard ordered through his pizza firm. He made connections and friends with the team, who eventually fell in love with his personality and positive attitude. In the end, they offered him a job on the team, and he gladly accepted.

He began as a game tester for various titles such as Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, and even the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, a precursor to Hearthstone. When Hearthstone was in development around 2012, Ben was put on the design team, along with coworker Eric Dodds. The two continued to develop what we currently have as the core of Hearthstone today, and how it plays.

Ben Brode has been a beloved member of the Hearthstone community, and is widely known for his laugh. He’s always active on twitter, discussing the game with players and its overall balance, and frequently takes advice for upcoming nerfs/buffs to be applied to cards in the game. Ben has always been a hugely positive influence on the community, and is the favorite of many. His recent promotion has many members of the community excited for the future of Hearthstone, and where his leadership will take us.

Overall, congratulations to Ben on the promotion, and we as a community hope that he will maintain the careful balance that is Hearthstone and eSports.