Diablo 3 director Jay Wilson apologizes for Facebook outburst against Diablo 1/2 lead

Diablo III game director Jay Wilson has come out to apologize for his outburst on Facebook earlier this week, during which he (and other Blizzard staff) said some very unkind things about David Brevik, lead designer of Diablo and Diablo II.

On Monday, Wilson and a number of other Diablo III personnel went on an R-rated tirade via Facebook in response to an interview Brevik gave regarding Diablo past and present. Brevik, though not wholly disapproving of the game, noted during his interview that he and the former Blizzard North would have taken Diablo III in another direction by stressing different aspects of the Diablo experience.

Diablo III technical artist Chris Haga posted a link to Brevik's interview on Facebook, to which Wilson replied, "Fuck that loser." 

While he wasn't exactly critical of Blizzard and the final product, other Diablo III devs inevitably joined in. Later, some of these posts were deleted, but not before the conversation was screencapped and plastered on Reddit for all to see. Pardon their French.

Two days later, Wilson posts a very lengthy follow-up on the Diablo III forums. Though he continues to defend his opinions and love for the game, he tells the community how sorry he is for his inappropriate behavior on Facebook and openly disrespecting Brevik. Here is the start of his post:

As many of you probably know, I recently made a comment on Facebook about Dave Brevik. I want to make it clear that I am very sorry for what I said. I have higher expectations for myself than to express my feelings in such a rash way and disrespect a fellow developer like Dave, someone who deserves to be treated with greater respect.

What I said was expressed out of anger, and in defense of my team and the game. People can say what they want about me, but I don't take lightly when they disparage the commitment and passion of the Diablo III team. Dave is awesome. In Diablo and Diablo II, he made two of the games that have most affected me as a developer. I respect his vision for Diablo, but just like he said in his interview, the Diablo III team must drive a vision for the game that is true to us. We believe in Diablo and have stuck by it through years of hard development to make it a reality. 

Most of his explanation is actually dedicated to explaining how the team is currently handling the game and criticism from players. He mentions the constant debate over difficulty and notes that PVP should be coming in the next patch. You can read the entire thing here.

Thanks for the tip, Nokturnal.