Today we celebrate Hearthstone’s history, rememorating Ben Brode, the creative mastermind, and his Un’Goro: The Journey rap.

Ben Brode is a Hearthstone icon. He was a part of Blizzard since 2003 and worked on Hearthstone since the game was born. You can’t think of him without hearing his contagious laughter. And it's difficult to forget his amazing jam sessions, an inspiring gift to the Hearthstone community. If you are into Hearthstone nostalgia rides, buckle up, we are going on a Journey to Un’Goro.

Ben Brode’s Un'Goro rap

The year was 2017 and the Journey to Un’Goro Hearthstone expansion was still fresh. The explorers were all over the crater looking for the missing expansion theme song. Luckily for the community, Brode came to the rescue.

True to his community engaging spirit, Brode took a Reddit complaint and turned it into an opportunity to show off a hidden talent. That was how Hearthstone got one of its best songs.

With you, Un’Goro: The Journey:

The spontaneous video had over a million views since its release in 2017. The Hearthstone community showered immense praise on Ben Brode. He was not just Hearthstone's best and most contagious laugh. He was not just one of Hearthstone's developers. Ben Brode was Hearthstone's face, and still today people remember him and his signature shirts.

The return of the King

The incredible success of Un'Goro: The Journey rap, inspired Ben Brode to do other videos. The Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion arrived in July. Could you believe that once again there was no song in the expansion's trailer once again?

Reddit was about to riot one more time, but they knew who to ask. 60 hours of work after, Ben Brode came with his second Hearthstone rap, the story of Arthas' and the mythic Lich King.

Ben Brode's history

The creative mastermind joined Blizzard in 2003 as a game tester for Warcraft III, and later part of the WoW Q&A support team, after quitting his pizza-delivery job. Later, Ben Brode worked on the World of Warcraft Trading card game, which was kind of an early version of Hearthstone.

Then in 2008, he joined Team 5 and the Hearthstone era began. Ben Brode's path in Hearthstone left a footprint wherever he went, from initial development to Lead Game Designer. He was one of the most engaging members Hearthstone had seen at the time, and he even started to address community concerns in a YouTube series called Designer Insights.

After uncountable laughs, Ben Brode left Blizzard in 2018 after 15 years of working there. In April 2018, Ben Brode became Chief Creative Officer at SecondDinner, another game studio. Despite this change, he couldn’t leave his inner rapper behind. Two years ago, he surprised everyone with a Grilled Cheese rap song.

This video had a nice production and value and made many Hearthstone fans fantasize about more raps. This time it wasn’t the case, but every Hearthstone player will remember his contributions to the game, on and off the clock.

The beats never end

Ben Brode opened the field and inspired other Hearthstone content creators to turn on the volume and try themselves. Fractured in Alterac's Valley expansion did have a theme song.

That didn't stop Dmoney to make his own rap about it. Inspired by Ben Brode's original raps, Dmoney and Warshack made this fine piece that made it to the game’s official social media account:

The bar has been set pretty high by Ben Brode, but there are no rapping competitions in esports, not yet. Brode is part of Hearthstone’s history, and his raps are also part of it. From Esports.gg, we wish Un’Goro: The Journey rap a happy 5-year birthday.

Stay tuned for more Hearthstone news and updates. See you next time in the tavern.