Gears of War boss Rod Fergusson, who's worked on the series since the halcyon days of its chainsaw machine-gunning gameplay, is stepping away from the franchise. 

Now, per a series of tweets on his account, he's heading to Blizzard Entertainment to head up the Diablo franchise. 

Fergusson's tenure of Gears of War saw the franchise move from its home at Epic Games to the Vancouver-based, Microsoft-owned studio The Coalition. During that time, the Gears franchise grew a reputation for sporting some of the finest accessibility features seen in triple-A games. 

"Leaving is bittersweet," said Fergusson in his posts. "As I love our Gears family, the fans, and everyone at The Coalition and Xbox. Thank you, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with you all."