Vigil Games founder and creative director Joe Madureira has left the company. The news comes via a tweet, in which Madureira bids farewell to Vigil, thanks publisher THQ and refers to the Darksiders franchise as a "career highlight." In a message on his Facebook fan page, Madureira notes, "I could not be more proud of what we achieved, or the awesome people who helped build up this studio." He adds that Vigil is "in very good hands, so expect only awesomeness down the road."

Madureira plans to reveal "the Next Big Thing" soon. In the meantime, the well-known artist is focusing on his other job, namely "banging out a bunch of comics."

Vigil's most recent game, Darksiders 2, topped the NPD sales chart for August, selling 247,000 copies. Only time will tell what Madureira's departure means for Vigil - and possibly for publisher THQ, which has a lot riding on the success of Darksiders 2.