Neversoft to be Merged Into Infinity Ward, Developer Confirms

Over the weekend, Giant Bomb posted a memo from Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, revealing that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater developer (they also helped out on Modern Warfare 3) Neversoft would be absorbed into Infinity Ward, with Neversoft as we once knew it disappearing. Shortly after the report came out, Infinity Ward confirmed this news on Twitter by saying, “We’re thrilled about our merger with Neversoft! The entire team is excited about the future.”

Here’s part of that memo from Hirshberg, explaining the changes:

“As you know, Neversoft and Infinity Ward teamed up for the development of Call of Duty: Ghosts. And through that process, it became clear that the two studios have very complementary skill sets. Between these two excellent studios, it seemed like a single ‘super-studio’ could emerge.”

“The impact of [Neversoft’s] 20-year run of hard work and success cannot be overstated. As already mentioned, we are merging these two very talented teams and obviously had to choose a name for the combined studio. Since the Infinity Ward brand is indelibly tied to the Call of Duty franchise, it is the sensible choice. While it will be strange to not see the Neversoft logo on future games, the important things – which are the Neversoft team’s talent, creativity, professionalism and commitment to creative excellence – all remain unchanged as part of this new chapter.”

With the merger, Dave Stohl, who is the EVP of Worldwide Studios at Activision, has been appointed as the new studio head, while current studio head, Steve Ackrich, will stay on in a leadership role. As for Neversoft, studio head Joel Jewett and studio director Scott Pease have retired after over 20 years with the company.

Since the Call of Duty franchise is now on a 3-year development cycle, it’s very likely Infinity Ward is now working on the Call of Duty game we’ll see in 2016.

TRENDING