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Infinity Ward will undergo significant change in the wake of ex-staffers’ bitter legal row with Activision, an insider claims.
Activision media manager Dan Amrich says that the ongoing legal row – pitting ex-studio heads Zampella and West against the publisher – will spur a revolution at the Modern Warfare studio.
“IW still exists,” he said. “[Though] obviously its identity and company culture are going to go through huge changes in the coming months and years.”
[TIMELINE – INFINITY-GATE]
Jotting down his views on a public Facebook thread, Amrich suggested that change means opportunity.
“When stuff happens and a situation changes, we all have the same core decision: Stay the course and reinvent, or move on to something else,” he said.
“The people who stick at IW will have to reinvent the studio, but it may well be that some of these people who cut their teeth on MW and MW2 are now ready to step up with their own ideas.”
In this light, Amrich made it clear he thinks Infinity Ward – despite accusations of low morale and, at points, studio breakdown – the company remains a top place to work in.
“I’d think if you are young and hungry and have a vision for a new game, IW would be a really good place to be right now,” he said.
“There are so many young and hungry designers, programmers, and developers out there, and I suspect some of them are already employed at IW, just waiting for their shot. When the dust settles, I expect to see some talented people step up and redefine the studio.”
Elsewhere in the discussion, Amrich prised Activision for giving developers their freedom, adding that there will be three new Call of Duty games released over the next two years.
