Stuart Black, the outspoken figurehead behind Codemasters’ explosive FPS Bodycount, will part ways with the company in October. His departure comes ahead of the title’s planned 2011 debut, which has often been touted by Black as a genre reinvention.

Earlier this year Black lashed out at the competition, telling Official Xbox Magazine that he felt the vast majority of shooters out there were “f*cking boring,” and that Bodycount was poised to fill the void. Black’s claim to fame was 2006’s well-received FPS Black, which garnered hit status as a late arrival in the PS2’s ten year-plus lifecycle.

“He will see out his design role until October and, through the transition period, will continue to work with the talented development team that will take the game through to completion,” a Codemasters representative told GamerZines.

The reason behind Black’s decision is unclear. Bailing out midway into development doesn’t exactly instill confidence, especially on a project hyped sky-high by its lead designer. Whatever the motivating factor, hopefully it was worth it.

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