Diablo III and World of Warcraft Designer, Travis Day Has Passed Away

The early 2000s saw the inception of the most popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft, developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The title was a significant and critical success, quickly rising to stardom and becoming a phenomenon among gamers. WoW has millions of partakers and is still dominating the MMORPG genre despite a lifespan-lasting two decades.

The hack-and-slash action roleplaying game Diablo III released in 2014, was also positively received by critics and gamers alike. It was a great successor to prior installments and was praised for direct Diablo-esque gameplay. The Diablo franchise has since come far and has also expanded onto the mobile platform.

Travis was a well-renowned Diablo III and World of Warcraft designer who unfortunately passed away unexpectedly. He wholly influenced both the titles with his expertise as a designer. Travis first stepped into the video games industry in 2005 at Blizzard Entertainment.

He began working as a customer service representative and leveled up to be a quality assurance tester. He would ultimately become a World of Warcraft game designer and Diablo III system designer. Travis also lent his expertise on prominent expansions for both games.

After devoting years to Blizzard Entertainment, Travis left Blizzard Entertainment and joined Phoenix Labs, developing Dauntless in 2018. He also contributed to Lightspeed LA, Tencent‘s Irvine-area game development studio. 

The scythe of death stabbed Travis at quite a young age. He was only 41 when he left the world and his legacy behind for us. The sister of Travis, Rachel Day, announced the saddening news on her Twitter handle. Rachel Day is a VFX artist and producer at Bonfire Studios. The message came as a shock to the whole community.

Morgan and I are saddened to share that our brother Travis Day passed away yesterday at 41 years old. Travis was loved greatly by friends and family and will be deeply missed. pic.twitter.com/FKE0ogW9YO

— Rachel Day (@RachelDayFX) August 11, 2022

The world of Warcraft and Diablo III players are grieving his death. No cause of his death was given, and it appears to be a natural death. The hourglass of life had run out of Travis Day. The remnants of Travis Day’s achievements live on in World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and his other chronicles. 

His colleagues had difficulty accepting the saddening news, and they showered Rachel Day with condolences. One of Travis’ colleagues stated, “His honesty & genuine way of communicating have been nothing but a joy and breath of fresh air whenever I got to interact with him.”

The lead game designer for Diablo IV stated in a tweet, “My condolences. I recently watched one of Travis’s design training videos from his time on Diablo. Even though he’s no longer with us, his knowledge will continue to teach and inspire people.” 

His friend and colleague Greg on Twitter worded, “I am so sad to learn the passing of my friend Travis. We worked together on WoW for many years, and he was one of those people who made me feel dumb just standing next to him.”

His influential contributions have shaped the modern MMORPG genre. What are your thoughts about such an important figure leaving the world early? Do let us know his influence on you in the comments below.

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