Here's unexpected news: Microsoft's The Coalition studio chief Rod Fergussonannounced today on Twitter that he will be leaving Xbox Game Studios from March to join Blizzard as Diablo'sdirector of development. Fergusson spent nearly 15 years at the helm of the Gears of Warfranchise, first in Epic Games and then at Microsoft although he also did not disdain adventures in other studios such as Irrational Games.

What does this mean for The Coalition and Gears of War? Seemingly nothing special: In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty explained that The Coalition remains the custodian of the GoW franchise as much as 343 Industries and Mojang are for Halo and Minecraft, and that the team remains led by talented veterans who will ensure a satisfying evolution for the series, starting with the release of Gears Tactics in April on PC.

Interestingly, this is the second Xbox executive to switch to Blizzard in a matter of months: last August, Xbox Live director Mike Ybarra joined Warcraft and Overwatch as Vice President, and this certainly contributed to Fergusson's hiring.

For our part, we wish Rod well for his new Blizzardadventure, eager to find out what impact it will have on Diablo'sevolution!