Goodbye from Mikee/Michael Tsarouhas

[Mikee]

Hi everyone,

This is Michael Tsarouhas, or Mikee as you might know me, the Lead Game Designer on Insurgency: Sandstorm with an important message. I'm going to be leaving New World Interactive as of today and moving on to new pursuits. I've been here working on projects like Insurgency, Day of Infamy, and Insurgency: Sandstorm for over 7 years. I've gotten to travel, meet great people, and learn so much in the fields voice over, writing, community management, voice over direction, creative direction, live ops, and design. I have so many great memories and stories. I'm extremely proud to say I got a chance to work with this team and I'm grateful for the opportunities I had. I am very lucky and privileged. I am also very sad. I'm leaving a team and a community that was always very flattering and appreciative of the work that I did. That's a big deal to me. I was always very personally invested in Insurgency, and I hope that came across to all of you in my work. I've decided it's time for me to move on from here though, and I need to say goodbye.

Please welcome Mark Wakeham as the new Live Ops Designer for Insurgency: Sandstorm. Mark has been an important part of the QA team over the past 18 months and has developed a deep familiarity of the ins and outs of Sandstorm. I ask you all welcome him with the same warmth and appreciation you've shown me these past 7 years. Mark and I have been working to ensure as smooth a transition as possible, and I can assure you he is super excited to get started. You'll see my final contributions in terms of design, content planning, and theming in upcoming updates 1.10 and 1.11, but Wakeham will be taking the lead there on my exit and from here on out. I hope you enjoy and support all he and New World Interactive create in the future.

Finally, a genuine thank you to all of you in the community. I appreciate you playing our games, modding them, giving us your feedback about them, and holding us accountable. Whether you made a custom map, shared your opinion on the forums, recommended the game to a friend, or explained to a new player how to speed reload, I want you to know that all that was meaningful to me. I know that this "big thanks to the community" message is a pretty typical thing to hear a video game developer say, especially in their exit from a company. Sometimes, it can come across as insincere or trite. But trust me when I say I mean it. At the risk of sounding cheesy or saccharine, this job was a very big part of my life, and I wouldn't be here without you. We do many of the things we do in our lives hoping that they are seen and appreciated. I'm fortunate enough to have had your validation and criticism on the things I've done, and to have grown as a result.

Thanks,
Mikee

[P. Snake]

Mikee... It's been real my friend. Thanks for everything! :')

[DRAG0V]

Thanks for everything, Michael.

[Shane]

Thank you for everything and good luck to your in your next endeavor in life!

[Squoshy]

You'll be missed Mikee ! You are a big part of the game and the franchise, Mark Wakeham is going to have some big shoes to fill. Best of luck in your new endeavours !

[Tactical Gaming Interactive]

All the best good sir.

[Novtzies]

I guess that Mikee voice pack is not gonna happen. Will always be a dream. Thanks for the things you've did for the game. I'll miss mikee, more than I though I would.

[Daimyo]

Thanks Mikee for all the help and support over the years. You're a great guy and I'll never forget our stream together back in INS 1. Take care and I look forward to seeing where you'll grow next.

[::OG:: Whiskey]

Mikee, thanks for everything man. You'll be missed. Good luck in your future pursuits.

[.::ZeroTwoKawaii::.]

Love you Mikee <3

[Le Pain Sale [GF]]

Thanks Mike for the effort!

[⚜Quode⚜]

The voice of Insurgency is being gone, cannot say how surprised I am at reading this, and also how deeply I felt reading this :(.

Goodluck where you go brother Mikee, make sure wherever you go, stop ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and spread out. <3

[Benjamin]

good luck on the future pursuits and thanks for the great work for the games that kept me entertained for hundreds of hours

[Zapatista]

good luck mikee, sorry to see people from the OG team leaving.

[46]

[MisterUrik]

Thank you for these games and good luck sir.