Acti: IW "will rise from the ashes"

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 10 August, 2010

Publisher promises to leave developer alone.

Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward will "rise from the ashes" after the high-profile exodus that followed the sacking of Vince Zampella and Jason West, publisher Activision has predicted.

Activision's Worldwide Studios boss Dave Stohl promised the gargantuan publisher will leave Infinty Ward alone as it rebuilds.

Activision is "supporting Infinity Ward in that rebuilding process, [but] I use the term 'support' because as much as possible we don't want to tamper with that group of people," Stohl told Develop.

"We want Infinity Ward to be Infinity Ward. It's a very specific culture."

Apparently, recruiting to replace the staff members who left over the last five months – some of whom have joined West and Zampella at Respawn Entertainment – hasn't been a problem.

And those who decided not to leave are grabbing the opportunity to shine with both hands, according to Activision.

"I'm not going to sit here and say no good talent left the studio, because obviously a lot of good talent did.

"But a lot of people who are really passionate about their job are still there.

"I'm one hundred per cent confident that the studio will come back to what it was, especially considering all the talent we're seeing rising through and also being recruited.

"There's a development philosophy that remains intact, and the studio is attracting amazing new talent. Ultimately, Infinity Ward will rise from the ashes."

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a developer that suffered the loss of a third of its staff, Infinity Ward is yet to unveil its next game.

Will it be Modern Warfare 3?

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 7 months ago

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  • JahB #1 2 years ago

    Activision's Worldwide Studios boss Dave Stohl promised the gargantuan publisher will leave Infinty Ward alone as it rebuilds.

    and i believe him. they'll leave them alone until about 2-3 months after the game went on sale, and then fire everybody that asks for a bonus.

  • Raznilof #2 2 years ago

    "We want Infinity Ward to be Infinity Ward. It's a very specific culture."

    Since when is a company a culture?

    A company is a group of people and just like favourite bands from the past decades, one person leaving can change everything. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. But there's an odd chemistry in a group of creative people that an IP or Company name simply doesn't posses.

    I wish them all (everyone involved) the best of luck of course, but it seems wrong to use the past in describing the future and calling that a culture.

    Edit: Thanks sneetch for answering my question below. Seems I may have cut a few corners to hastily in my reply here.
    Edited by 2 at 10/08/10 @ 17:16

  • NewbieZilla #3 2 years ago

    "..will leave Infinty Ward alone as it rebuilds."

    And as soon as it rebuilds, all bets are off.

  • SilverInfinity #4 2 years ago

    Translated as:

    "Please don't hate us gamers, we won't do it again ... don't boycott our products ... please think of the shareholders!"

  • Cyclone #5 2 years ago

    If Activision hadn't been so meddling and heavy handed in the first place Infinity Ward wouldn't have to rise from the ashes.

  • geeza2020 #6 2 years ago

    IW is dead to me. Its just a puppet for Acti to wave around now. "From the makers of COD: MW" etc etc.

  • linksdad #7 2 years ago

    Do they think we are stupid?

    If they fucked about with the company with its founder members heading up the operation, what shinanigans are they going to get up to with puppets in charge?

    Also pretty odd admitting that they reduced the company to a pile of ashes...
    Edited by 1 at 10/08/10 @ 16:15

  • Eraser #8 2 years ago

    Well, these guys single handedly crafted the modern day WW2 shooter genre, starting with Medal of Honor: Allied Assault back when they were still working under the EA banner as 2015. I'd go as far as to say that their games did have a tremendous impact on what we've come to expect from games and multiplayer experiences.

    For example, the whole idea behind challenges and perks is maybe not entirely new, but COD4: Modern Warfare was the first to execute it in such a polished and expansive way. And now you see these things incorporated in a whole lot of other games. Even other genres. Just look at Blur, it has a similar system with it's challenges and mods.
    Edited by 2 at 10/08/10 @ 16:19

  • ZuluHero #9 2 years ago

    Promises to leave developer alone? They should have left them alone in the first place!

  • Amblin #10 2 years ago

    I imagine they will leave them alone, they have all themoney from mw2 and are not giving out the bonuses they promised. So better to be out of the office so they don't have to deal with that sticky wicket.

    Damage is done now and the annual release of the same game with new skins will not be a recipe for future success.

    Edited by 1 at 10/08/10 @ 16:27

  • Seehuusen #11 2 years ago

    Modern warfare is overrated, they were much better in their WW2 days, both under EA and Activision banner. A battle between two somewhat even armies is just a lot more fun than a huge warmachine smashing everything in it's path if it wants to.

    Here's hoping for some good old WW2 games from respawn entertainment soon :) or maybe some korean war, never really had a big wargame about that.

  • BritishBlue1 #12 2 years ago

    Activision already gutted the studio and sent it's best talent packing. IW will only be a shadow of it's former self. I don't think promising to "leave them alone" is much consolation.The new employees will be acutely aware of what happens when you don't tow the Activision line; creative output is never good under such conditions.

  • I\'mListening #13 2 years ago

    A bit late to leave IW alone, perhaps?

  • darkmorgado #14 2 years ago

    "We ran them into the ground, so we're going to wait while they dust themselves off before we run them into the ground again."

    I believe that lawsuit filed against Acti by IW is still ongoing, yes? Notice how everything seems to have gone quiet on that front. No mention of whether the bonuses have now been paid, or if they are still tied to the delivery of MW3, or anything at all. And no mention that the new head of IW is just a puppet manager put in place by Kotick to ensure compliance.

    It was Kotick that said he wants to develop a culture of fear and subservience among his developers. Based on the whole IW saga, I'd say he meant what he said.

  • bratmandu #15 2 years ago

    *Cough* Bullshit! *cough-cough*

  • MrChuckles #16 2 years ago

    Technically, i don't think you can use the 'will rise from the ashes' metaphor if you are the evil corporate blast furnace that incinerated them in the first place...

  • SAMagic #17 2 years ago

    Which staff members remained? Didn't the ENTIRE design team leave?

    If that's the case, they're not just replacing people at a developer, they're practically creating a new one from scratch.

    @darkmorgado : It's hard to say. There might be a lengthy series of legal letters going back and forth between each side of the lawsuit.
    Edited by 1 at 10/08/10 @ 16:49

  • sneetch #18 2 years ago

    @Raznilof
    "We want Infinity Ward to be Infinity Ward. It's a very specific culture."

    Since when is a company a culture?

    A company is a group of people and just like favourite bands from the past decades, one person leaving can change everything. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. But there's an odd chemistry in a group of creative people that an IP or Company name simply doesn't posses.

    Yep, that's called the organisational culture: a company isn't a culture but a company has a culture. It's defined by the way things are done; the attitudes, history and experiences of the people in it and so on. It can be fragile or quite durable. I've worked in companies with vastly different cultures over the years, some incredibly negative ones, others very energetic and positive.

  • bdc #19 2 years ago

    I knew IW lost some staff, but I never realized it was a third! That's ridiculous of Activision. I am seeing right through their bullshit.

  • a8a #20 2 years ago

    Close that stable door Activision! There might still be some horseshit in there wanting out!

  • Raznilof #21 2 years ago

    @sneetch thanks for that answer, I really hadn't considered that. For a creative company it's probably not much different than any other company. Still, I find it odd to refer to company culture in the whole context of what happened, specifically because it seems that the co-operate side of things (the culture as you describe it?) caused all the troubles.

    But as said before, I do hope for the very "real" people that work there (or have been involved) that they all can go on doing what they do so well.

    Edit: typos and grammar.
    Edited by 1 at 10/08/10 @ 17:34

  • Rack #22 2 years ago

    I know Activision would like to use the analogy of a Phoenix, but I feel a Zombie rising from the grave, mocking the face of the person who once wore it is much more apt.

  • JensonJet #23 2 years ago

    I wonder who's game will be worse... Respawn's new game or Infinity Ward's next effort. After MW2 I'm expecting both to supply a slick shooter with ridiculous storylines and unbearable multiplayer that'll be updated constantly to correct it's errors. Oh, and neither will have co-op campaign as that would be too much fun and goes against company policy. Personally I'm more excited about my next shopping trip... I need some herbs, and some bread. I'm low on eggs, and I must remember to get olive oil.
    Edited by 1 at 10/08/10 @ 20:08

  • lockload #24 2 years ago

    Activision have got the stdio managers in who are very firmly in activisions pocket, they are far from leaving IW alone

  • Jonny5Alive7 #25 2 years ago

    Daft thing is the general public don't know the difference so the first IW game at least will very well based on their name.

  • xenoss #26 2 years ago

    What IW?

    Everyone with half a brain already knows IW is now Respawn...

  • alcides #27 2 years ago

    so they admit it was ravished, burned out, utterly destroyed, Coventried!


    oh. I thought devs stock was disposable before, if we were ever to listen to them.

  • Sunyavadin #28 2 years ago

    Kind of like how Atari have repeatedly risen from the ashes, as a name various companies buy in order to tack on and make a bit more cash?

  • Articulate-Troll #29 2 years ago

    I'm sure if Activision throw enough money at IW they'll make a game that's competent, and perhaps at least the equal of MW2 -- they've already done the same to Treyarch.

    But that's all they'll achieve. We're never going to see another jump in the series like we did with MW2, and eventually people will tire of Activision's production line approach to development and move on to another series.

  • sickpuppysoftware #30 2 years ago

    "We broke it, we don't want the blame when it can't be fixed"

  • kar #31 2 years ago

    Modern Warfare 2 wasn't a jump at all. It was a cash-in on the truly remarkable MW.

    Basically it's a game that feels so very clearly as if is one the developers didn't want to make. And the probably didn't.

    It's basically as if Michael Bay got hold of the Jason Bourne franchise.

    MW was brilliant, MW2 was not, frankly.

    I can't wait to see what respawn achieve though.

  • dingo75 #32 2 years ago

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=3VmD5vZtQdo

  • sneetch #33 2 years ago

    @Raznilof
    @sneetch thanks for that answer, I really hadn't considered that. For a creative company it's probably not much different than any other company. Still, I find it odd to refer to company culture in the whole context of what happened, specifically because it seems that the co-operate side of things (the culture as you describe it?) caused all the troubles.

    But as said before, I do hope for the very "real" people that work there (or have been involved) that they all can go on doing what they do so well.

    To be honest, after all that has happened in Infinity Ward in the last year or so I'd say their culture has been seriously (possibly irreparably) damaged already. I'd say that in Infinity Ward at least Bobby Kotick has got the culture of "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" that he reportedly wanted.

  • space_ace #34 2 years ago

    solid proof that suits are, in fact, insane. or insanely big liars.

  • Spekingur #35 2 years ago

    A culture, something that is cultivated.

    "A culture is also something you can grow, in a lab - in that context, often referred to as a culture of germs."

  • CatWeazle #36 2 years ago

    Those Activision cunts obviously never read Aesop's Fables.

    http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goose_T...

  • james-mw3-mw3 #37 7 months ago

    MW3 will see the return of Task Force 141 Captain John "Soap" MacTavish and SAS Captain John Price! Call of Duty games have always had a great cast, weaponry and perks, I'm sure MW3 will continue that line. To think that Activision has slated Modern Warfare 3 for a November 8, 2011 release.