Tomb Raider, Just Cause Dev Exec Leaves After 10 Years

Square Enix is losing a senior member. The studio has announced that Darrell Gallagher, its head of product development and Western Studios, is leaving the company after more than 10 years. He most recently oversaw the releases of Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft Go, Life Is Strange, and Just Cause 3. He also worked on 2016 games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Hitman.

Before taking on the head of development role, Gallagher was a Studio Head at Crystal Dynamics. In that position, he most notably worked on the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot. Gallagher will officially exit Square Enix at the end of the year; there is no word yet on who might fill his position.

"Today Darrell Gallagher announced that he is moving on from Square Enix at the end of this year," Square Enix West CEO Phil Rogers said in a statement. "Darrell became head of Crystal Dynamics back in 2009, led that studio to reboot the Tomb Raider franchise, and for the last three years he has led our western studios. I want to thank him for his tremendous effort and contribution to Square Enix, along with the amazing entertainment he has helped create. I am sad to see him go but respect his decision and we should all celebrate the sheer blood, sweat and tears he has put into our company over the last 10 years! We are excited for him and his family on their next chapter. We wish them the best of luck in the future."

There is no word yet regarding what Gallagher might do next.

Prior to joining Crystal Dynamics in November 2005, Gallagher worked in art-related positions at Rockstar Games, THQ, and Sony.

In other Crystal Dynamics management news, the company announced that veteran staffers Ron Rosenberg and Scot Amos have been promoted to co-studio heads at the company.

"Scot and Ron each bring a unique skill set and each will focus on owning different aspects of running a studio, while ultimately making all major decisions together," Crystal Dynamics said. "Both seasoned Crystal Dynamics veterans, Ron and Scot took over a few months ago, and the transition has been seamless. Now that we have a bit of breathing room after the launch, we wanted to formally introduce them in their new role to all of you."

Crystal Dynamics' latest game was November's Rise of the Tomb Raider. In addition to a possible third game in the reboot series, the studio may also be working on a new Legacy of Kain.