Midway has confirmed to Gi.biz that Harvey Smith has left the Midway Austin development house after a 'mutual decision' was made between Midway higher-ups and the man himself.

Harvey Smith, who worked on gaming greats like Deus Ex and Thief: Deadly Shadows and who had worked closely with figureheads like Warren Spector in the past, most recently worked as the lead designer on BlackSite: Area 51, a game he was himself critical of.

Speaking at the Montreal International Games Summit in Quebec, Smith described the game as "f**ked up".

"It took eight months to get one thing working," he said. "With a year to go, the game was disastrously off rails...it went straight from alpha to final" This naturally left virtually no time to spend play-testing the game. The game has suffered very mixed reviews as a result.

Smith said that the reason he was confessing so much was because that he believed in personal accountability. No comment has been made regarding whether Smith left before or after admitting his disappointment.

There's no news yet on where Smith is heading to now. Will he be hooking back up with Warren Spector at Junction Point Studios or will he head to Eidos to work on Deus Ex 3? Either way, pass on your well-wishes and comments via the forums.