Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Activision Creates New Call of Duty Business Unit

Santa Monica-based Activision Publishing said Tuesday afternoon that it is creating a new, dedicated business unit around its Call of Duty franchise. According to the company, the new unit will be headed by Philip Earl, who currently runs Activision's Asia Pacific region. The firm also said that it is tapping a new game studio, Sledgehammer Games, headed by Glen A. Schofield and Michael Condrey, to extend the Call of Duty franchise. In related news, the firm confirmed that Infinity Ward, the current game development studio behind Call of Duty, is no longer headed by Jason West and Vince Zampella; Activision had earlier said in its annual report that it had fired two senior employees at Infinity Ward for "breaches of contract and insubordination."