Analyst: Infinity Ward to be “Essentially Closed” after Release of Next MW2 Map Pack
Firings, lawsuits, and employees quitting right and left – oh my! But it’s not lions, tigers, or bears that Infinity Ward needs to keep an eye out for. Instead, it’s the vultures, which – according to Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey – are circling the Modern Warfare developer while licking their chops with their weird, saliva-free bird tongues.
“Continued defections from their Infinity Ward studio have created meaningful uncertainty around the future of their Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise," Hickey said.
"We expect Infinity Ward studio will be essentially closed after their next map pack release, with development work on Modern Warfare 3 spread between two studios not historically tied to the franchise.”
As of last count, more than 30 employees have departed from Infinity Ward within the last month or so – many of whom resurfaced at former IW heads Jason West and Vince Zampella’s Respawn Entertainment a short while later.
Thus far, there’s been nothing but radio silence as far as the next Modern Warfare 2 map pack goes. It is, however, in the works, according to Activision.
So, for now, Infinity Ward soldiers on. With the developer beheaded and rapidly bleeding employees, though, we're not sure scrambling for cover and waiting a few seconds for the strawberry jelly to disappear from their screen is going to work this time.