Age of Empires 4 design director departs Relic after 24 years
Quinn Duffy was a vital part of the RTS developer’s identity for over two decades.
Aroged (via GamesIndustry.biz) reported that Quinn Duffy, design director at Age of Empires 4 developer Relic Entertainment, announced his departure from the studio via a post on LinkedIn. He was at the company for almost 24 years.
"At Relic, I had a passion for both history and the real-time strategy genre. That's why I could not have been more excited to have helped build a new part of this beloved and iconic franchise," said Duffy in his post. After a long tenure at Relic, he finally became design director of RTS games in 2010, capped off by the release of the well-received Age of Empires 4.
Known for franchises like Company of Heroes and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, Relic Entertainment has been one of the few torchbearers for the flagging RTS genre in recent years, only now getting a renewed push thanks in large part to how popular Age of Empires 4 was at its release. It’s great to see a developer that sticks to its vision pushing trends forward and ushering in the kind of games industry it wants to see and be a part of.
Not only is Age of Empires 4 a quality entry in the historical RTS franchise, but it’s receiving continued support from Relic, with regular patches and updates coming down the pipeline. Fans are hungry for more RTS goodness, and Relic is all too happy to provide. It's great that Duffy stayed on long enough to see the genre come around again.
Age of Empires 4 is available now on PC.