Activision reveals new direction for the Call of Duty series

The Infinity Ward drama caused quite a stir yesterday, from the reported bouncer type dudes storming the studio to the sudden departure of IW heads Vince Zampella and Jason West. Now Activision has finally responded to the issue and revealed its plan for the future of the Call of Duty franchise.

The Infinity Ward drama caused quite a stir yesterday, from the reported bouncer type dudes storming the studio to the sudden departure of IW heads Vince Zampella and Jason West. Now Activision has finally responded to the issue and revealed its plan for the future of the Call of Duty franchise.

Here’s a brief summary of the Press Release as obtained by G4:

The publisher has confirmed studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West have left the company, but issued no other comment related to their departure. There was no mention of “insubordination” or “breach of contract” in Activision’s statement.

Activision Publishing CTO Steve Pearce and head of production Steve Ackrich are temporarily in charge of Infinity Ward.

According to the release, Infinity Ward will move forward on developing two downloadable map packs for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, both due for release sometime in 2010.

A new Call of Duty is coming from Treyarch Games later this year.

Infinity Ward will remain central to Call of Duty’s future.

Activision also vaguely discussed intentions for the future of the series, which include pulling the Call of Duty franchise under a singular business unit. Activision also intends to “expand” the Call of Duty brand similar to what Blizzard Entertainment has done with its franchises.

This lines up with Activision’s public intentions to eventually release a subscription-based Call of Duty game. According to Activision, this change “will include a focus on high-margin digital online content and further the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models.”