When the Saints Row series first debuted back in 2006, the game wasn't given much attention. Yes, it was an open-world Xbox 360 exclusive, but for many, it was an inferior clone of the industry juggernaut Grand Theft Auto. Few took the original game seriously, and it wasn't until the game's sequel that players began to take notice. Saints Row 2 was a goofy, over-the-top, irreverent parody of open-world games, and took itself far less seriously than Grand Theft Auto ever did. The new tone resonated with players, and the trend continued with subsequent entries in the series. Within a few years, Saints Row became known as one of the biggest, funniest games on the market.
One of the principal players in the rise of Saints Row was Steve Jaros. Jaros worked as lead writer on all of the Saints Row games, while also serving as Volition Studio's creative director. So, when Jaros announced his departure from the studio he helped put on the map, people noticed.
After a decade with Volition and the Saints Row series, Jaros has decided to start anew with Valve Software, the creators of Half-Life. Through a series of tweets, Jaros announced his departure from the company and gave his thanks to those he has worked with.
The past 10 years at Volition have been life changing. I've gotten to work with amazing people and made friends that will last a life time..
— Steve Jaros (@SteveJaros) September 14, 2014
..I'm super proud of the work we did on Saints Row, and am excited for what Volition does in the future, but it's time for me to move on... — Steve Jaros (@SteveJaros) September 14, 2014
...I'm looking forward to new adventures at Valve Software. @jymmitee @Anim8der Chris King. If we don't get drinks when I'm in town I'll cry — Steve Jaros (@SteveJaros) September 14, 2014
The tweets don't go into a lot of detail: Jaros doesn't mention when he'll be leaving the studio (if that hasn't already happened), nor does he give a specific reason for leaving beyond, "It's time to move on." It's also unknown what position Jaros will have at Valve: considering his resume, it'd be easy to assume that Jaros will be working as a writer in some capacity, but without any word from Jaros himself or Valve, it's impossible to tell.
The Saints Row series will continue on without Jaros with the "Gat Out of Hell" expansion for Saints Row IV, which is due for release in January 2015. As for Jaros, it's currently unknown what project he'll be working on over at Valve. After all, it's been some time since the studio has made any sort of major announcement.
Who knows: maybe there's a chance he could even be working on a certain third installment that gamers have been waiting nearly a decade for...
