Change of guard at Infinity Ward

Activision’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer Thomas Tippl has insisted that Infinity Ward can recover from its current woes, outlining that a new management structure has already been put in place.

We have interim leadership in place,” he told the LA Times. We have two senior execs currently – Steve Pearce, our chief technology officer, and Steve Ackrich, who is the head of production for the company.

We are currently in the process of configuring the new leadership team there. Infinity Ward still has nearly 100 people. They’ve built a deep bench, and the change of guard will provide an opportunity for some of the rising stars to put their own stamp on the Call of Duty franchise. In addition, we will provide them with all the resources internally and recruit talent from the outside.”

Furthermore, Tippl insisted that Activision is a good owner for any potential developer.

We treat our developers extremely well,” he insisted. We have an independent studio model that provides them a lot of creative freedom while we take care of the back office stuff so they can focus on making games. If their games are successful, they are compensated better here than anywhere else. We’ve been paying our talent millions of dollars for their work. Our setup provides a win-win opportunity. We ensure your work will reach a wide audience. Therefore, we have attracted, and we will continue to attract, the top talent in this industry.”

But what of those who have already departed the studio: If you put yourself in the developer’s shoes, the ability to work on the biggest franchise in the industry and bring your creative product to an audience the size of the Call of Duty franchise is an opportunity many would crave.”