Dan Amrich, Activision social media manager and blogger, claims that the publisher is expecting more staff to leave Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward.
Numerous staff have walked out on the developer since Activision sacked studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella almost two months ago.
“More people will probably go too, looking for new situations,” Amrich, a long-time US games journalist who joined Activision in January 2010 to act as a Major Nelson type figure for the company, wrote on the Facebook page of an Activision/CEO Bobby Kotick hate group. “Maybe they will join [West and Zampella’s new studio] Respawn, maybe not.
“I'm confused, because by leaving, they are giving up their bonus -- and the more people that leave, the bigger the bonus gets for the people who stay,” he added. “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. 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.
“Vince and Jason had very large bonuses; those bonuses are being redistributed to everybody else, to the people who did not allegedly attempt to steal company secrets. Activision is not pocketing that bonus money; it's still going to the people who work at IW. But you have to work at IW to get it, see? :) I don't want to see talented people screwed out of a paycheck any more than you do.”
Amrich also went on to comment on the first Modern Warfare 2 DLC pack, which launched late last month. While some sections of the gaming community were unhappy with the DLC’s relatively high price point, it went on to sell 2.5 million units in its first week of availability on Xbox Live. It’s due to be released for PS3 and PC early next month.
“I think the $15 price point for MW2 DLC was a mistake, and as soon as I had the opportunity I said so, even came up with some alternate suggestions ("how about $10 for three maps and the two remakes as freebies to thank everybody?") -- but by the time I was made aware, it was too late, and people weren't really asking me that kind of stuff anyway.”