After cutting three percent of its workforce worldwide in May this year, a new wave of layoffs has hit the company. The Seattle Times reported roughly 9,100 employees affected across all of Microsoft, with the overall impact on its Gaming Division unknown. Bloomberg did note that King, based in Stockholm, and ZeniMax Media’s European offices were affected (with the former losing about 200 employees). However, at the time, the full scale of the cuts was unknown in the United States.

As time passed, it became clear that this wasn’t just a series of layoffs but an all-out bloodbath. Everwild, Perfect Dark and ZeniMax Online Studios’ next MMO, codenamed Blackbird, have reportedly been cancelled. The Initiative has been closed. Rare will allegedly undergo restructuring and see layoffs. Undead Labs, currently working on State of Decay 3, has reportedly faced layoffs (though how extensive is unknown). Turn 10 Studios saw over 70 layoffs, according to The Verge, effectively reducing its staff by almost 50 percent (which is apparently enough to keep Forza Motorsport going).

At the time of writing, it’s unknown whether ZeniMax Online Studios will see layoffs because the overall handling of the process has been, to put it simply, embarrassing. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier noted that staff who worked on Blackbird were locked out of their Slack accounts without any warning from HR. Leadership and HR have also yet to confirm their job statuses, though they can still use their official work emails and Microsoft Teams (and no, I won’t make the joke).

The way it’s been handled is unequivocally horrendous, but it’s not just in the United States. King’s London and Berlin offices, alongside their remote workers, have also allegedly been hit, according to MobileGamer.biz. Though they noted how it wasn’t very surprising, the process has still “been handled very poorly.”

Back in the US, not even those working on the Call of Duty franchise are safe. Insider Gaming reported layoffs to Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software, with the actual number yet to be known. And yes, Raven is working on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 alongside Treyarch. High Moon Studios, which serves as a support studio on Call of Duty: Warzone, has also seen layoffs. Halo Studios is also reportedly seeing layoffs – one alleged employee worked on Halo Infinite for the past four years to turn around, quote, “that burning dumpster of a live service.” There aren’t any reports about South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games, but one former employee recently posted on LinkedIn about seeking a new role, having worked at the studio since June 2024.

You’re probably wondering at this point, “Is that all?” Well, no. According to The Verge, the Xbox user research team has also been “hit hard.” For those unaware, it’s a team that “focuses on ensuring quality across Xbox games, the platform, and developer tools.” Windows Central reports that QA in Activision and Blizzard have also been affected, alongside marketing and sales teams. If that isn’t enough, Xbox’s head of family and child safety is also gone.

If we’re talking about senior positions, ZeniMax Online Studios president Matt Firor is leaving after over 18 years, while sources told VGC that Gregg Mayles and Louise O’Connor will be leaving Rare. Mayles has spent over 35 years at the studio and is best known for Banjo-Kazooie and Sea of Thieves (and was also directing Everwild after the reported 2021 reboot). O’Connor has also been at the studio for quite some time, having worked on Conker’s Bad Fur Day, and is also gone after the cancellation of Everwild.

And I would say, “That’s it for now,” but no one, not even Microsoft since this is their fourth set of layoffs in about 18 months, could possibly know. It’s been, for all intents and purposes, a bloodbath. But you know who thinks all of this is the best decision and the one that will position the brand for continued success? Why, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, of course!

Before news of all these cancellations and layoffs fully circulated, Spencer sent out a note (obtained by Windows Central), stating, “To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness.” However, in the next paragraph, he admits that all of this is happening, while, “We have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger.” So what gives?

Spencer continues, “The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years, and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate efforts on areas with the greatest potential while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.”

He offered the usual spiel for those let go – “We would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted,” “These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved” (which is one way of saying, “It’s not you, it’s me”). But perhaps the most notable is, “Our momentum is not accidental—it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.” So naturally, the obvious next step is to lay off those workers to thank them for their work thus far. The worst part about the note is how “the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.” This seemingly indicates that more layoffs and cancellations are coming.

As annoying as all this is, Xbox Game Studios’ Matt Booty followed with an internal email confirming the cancellation of Perfect Dark and Everwild and the winding down of “several unannounced projects” (which seemingly includes ZeniMax Online’s Blackbird). “These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape,” said Booty. “We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.”

However, he then goes on to note that the overall plan remains “unchanged,” which is to “build games that excite our players, continue to grow our biggest franchises, and create new stories, worlds, and characters.” There are apparently over 40 projects in “active development” and “continued momentum” on games launching this Fall (and no, we don’t know of any new titles outside of The Outer Worlds 2). Furthermore, it has a “strong slate” going into the next year.

What is the point of this section other than to inspire confidence among those left that Microsoft isn’t dying anytime soon or perhaps no further cancellations are on the way? Thinking back to the end of Spencer’s note, now might not be the right time to brag about “continued momentum.” Then again, Booty is the one who looked at rumors about Perfect Dark’s troubled development and said, “It’s quite the opposite.” He also called reports of Everwild’s development rebooting in 2021 as “a little extreme” than what really happened. Do I expect any executive in such a position to be candid and admit fault? Well, no, but then again, I also don’t expect to hear about all the wonderful things Xbox has in the works after my colleagues and co-workers lost their jobs.

So, with all that out of the way, Microsoft’s tally for layoffs in 2025 sits at over 15,000 employees thus far. The real question, at least for the time being, is: What hasn’t been cancelled? Apparently, everything from the recent Xbox Games Showcase (conveniently enough) is safe, according to Windows Central. It’s also been suggested that the company’s next-gen console plans “remain unaffected.” You know, the one part of the Gaming Division’s revenues that have seen constant declines. Then again, I don’t know if you can boast about the revenue from content and services too much since Call of Duty and Minecraft (followed by Game Pass) contributed heavily to the same.

Taking a step back, it’s easy to look at all this and simply blame Microsoft. And make no mistake – it really is that easy, considering Spencer and crew have been at the helm for some of the company’s biggest failings. The closure of Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, and Alpha Dog Studios. Increasing the price of major first-party games to $80. Declining hardware revenue. Multiple years with no games to offer loyal fans. High-profile disappointments, like Halo Infinite at launch and Redfall.

Depending on who you ask, even releasing first-party titles to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, which proved financially successful, was viewed as the company admitting defeat in the console wars. Which, going by the numbers, should be a given. You may think that the cancellations of Everwild and Perfect Dark are justified, given years of troubled development.

Yet Microsoft oversaw both studios and dozens of others. When a 2022 report emerged about a toxic work environment at Undead Labs under its new studio head and HR head, leading to numerous departures and stalled development on State of Decay 3, Microsoft was specifically called out for not acting sooner.

In the past, Phil Spencer has admitted that upper management was hands-off, leaving studios to their own machinations – which was the reason (among many) why Redfall shipped in its sorry state. He then claimed that the team did “a better job” helping with Bethesda’s Starfield, but even if you’re a fan of it, there’s no denying the bugs, glitches, crashes, and quality-of-life issues that it shipped with (after delays, at that).

However, if we’re outlining everything that Microsoft has done wrong with the Xbox brand, you could go all the way back to 2013 (and some people have), pointing to Microsoft effectively nailing its own coffin shut with how it presented the Xbox One. Even after backtracking on Kinect, always-online requirements, used-game ownership and a focus on TV media, it was still effectively sent to die against the PS4 later that year. Some may even go back further and blame its focus on Gears of War, Forza, and Halo – the top three, as it were – and the inability to nurture new franchises, which prompted the acquisition of Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Playground Games and many more in the years to come.

Whether that acquisition-fueled mayhem and the less-than-stellar returns are to blame or not, this process of acquiring studios and then shuttering them after however many years isn’t all that surprising. Flashback to 2021, when Sarah Bond, then-head of Game Creator Experiences and Ecosystem at Xbox, reflected on shutting down Lionhead Studios in 2016 after acquiring it in 2006. “What did we learn, and how do we not repeat our same mistakes?” Spencer followed up by stating, “You acquire a studio for what they’re great at now, and your job is to help them accelerate how they do what they do, not them accelerate what you do.” Based on everything that’s happened, it seems that leadership at Microsoft Gaming and Xbox Game Studios has a long way to go.

Many players are still wondering why Spencer – and other leadership figures like Matt Booty – are still in charge, given the brand’s failures over the past several years. We’ve heard Xbox president Sarah Bond talking about a new multi-year partnership with AMD across “a portfolio of devices,” including next-generation Xbox consoles, where one of the stated goals was to deliver “immersive gameplay and player experiences enhanced with the power of AI.”

However, Microsoft signed a deal with OpenAI in 2019, though Business Insider reported tensions between the two companies, casting some doubts on whether their partnership can last until 2030. That being said, Microsoft has still invested a whopping $13 billion into it thus far. All that money has to come from somewhere, and unfortunately, we may be seeing the result of that.

Of course, that still doesn’t excuse the current direction of Xbox – whatever that may currently be. Yes, Forza Horizon 5, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Sea of Thieves are successful on PlayStation 5. And while I was somewhat optimistic about Microsoft taking a multi-centric approach to offering its games on numerous platforms, I still don’t understand the whole “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign.

Or why the company had to tie up with Meta to release a $500 Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition in limited supplies when none of its titles supports VR. As great a deal as Game Pass has been for the company, it hasn’t seen anywhere near the level of growth in the past few years as when it first began. The amount that Microsoft is investing in it continues to grow, however, and even if it’s helping many players discover brand-new titles, the argument that it’s effectively cannibalizing first-party sales will never truly go away.

The industry as a whole has faced unprecedented instability since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, with layoffs regularly happening as early as 2023. As perhaps the biggest games publisher in the world, Microsoft is no stranger to mass cuts – look no further than 2014 when it cut 18,000 employees, though that primarily affected the Nokia division. And while it may have a pretty impressive line-up of titles to come, Laura Fryer, one of the founding members of the original Xbox team, recently said it best.

“What is the long-term plan? Where are the new hits? What will make people care about the Xbox 25 years from now?” She noted that with the 25th anniversary of Xbox approaching in 2026, perhaps it’s “the year that the fog will clear and all of us will see the beauty in these latest announcements.” Whether that will be the case or not, the dark cloud currently hanging over Microsoft and its Gaming Division isn’t going away any time soon.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

When it launched originally, Deadpool wasn’t particularly well received, and for many, it was another game in an endless line of hastily cobbled together licensed products (something that was, of course, much more prevalent back then than it is now). Neither its original release nor its remaster have what you would call a good Metacritic score (falling in the low 60s or high 50s), and admittedly, the game wasn’t without its issues by any stretch of the imagination. With time, however, opinion on the Deadpool game has seemed much less sour, to the point where the game seems to have its fair share of legitimate fans. And in spite of its aforementioned issues, the game does deserve its fair share of praise as well.

Let’s start, however, with those issues, because we’re not going to be foolish and deny that Deadpool had any flaws whatsoever. No, it was a decidedly flawed game, and in more ways than one. From simplistic and repetitive design to straightforward combat, the game was criticized for plenty of things, and though you may disagree on how significantly it was impacted by those problems, that it was a largely simple and straightforward game is also undeniable. Sure, there’s an argument to be made that that was by design, but it’s not hard to understand why those looking for a more nuanced and mechanically complex action game may have felt let down by how straightforward Deadpool was in those areas.

But just as the game had its undeniable flaws, it also had plenty of strengths that deserve credit and recognition. Chief among them is the plain and simple fact that the game is hilarious. Self referential humour, irreverent jokes, meta gags, and the like are all Deadpool the character and IP’s bread and butter, to say the very least, and the 2013 game did an incredible job honing in on that and making it central to its identity.

It’s fair to say that something as subjective as humour is never going to universally appeal to everyone, especially not when it is as inherently brash, in your face, and purposefully obnoxious as Deadpool humour tends to be more often than not, so it wouldn’t be shocking if the game’s jokes and writing may not have landed for some who played it. Chances are, however, that if the Deadpool brand of humour is something you generally enjoy, you’re very likely to have gotten a kick out of the game as well. Some of the best superhero games we’ve seen over the years have seen the success they’ve seen because they exhibited a keen understanding for the biggest strengths and characteristics of the characters that they were telling stories about, and while it would be an exaggeration to out 2013’s Deadpool game on that same level (or anywhere close), it does deserve credit for doing a damn fine job of identifying what makes Deadpool, Deadpool.

From a narrative perspective, Deadpool wasn’t a special game by any means. It told a solid, original story, one with plenty to like and enjoy for fans of the property and the X-Men universe in general, but that story was ultimately little more than a a stage on which the titular superhero protagonist could shine. A ton of credit also goes, of course, to the excellent portrayal of the Merc by veteran actor Nolan North- who, incidentally, also appeared as himself in the early portions of the game, as part of a typically self referential gag that saw Deadpool hiring him to play him in a video game about himself.

Beyond that, on the gameplay front, though Deadpool was – as I touched on earlier – a fairly straightforward hack and slash game, it was also fairly fun more often than not. No, criticisms of repetitive design were not completely unfounded, and thanks to the simplicity of the game, that repetition could admittedly set in with the combat encounters- but the core mechanics themselves were fun. Deadpool was the textbook definition of a competent hack and slash game- it delivered the kind of action that dead next to nothing that could be described as imaginative or new, and while that made criticism of the game easy to understand, that action was also undeniably fun quite often, especially since the thing that the game hinged on most was not its gameplay or combat, but its writing and humour.

So no, Deadpool is not exactly a masterpiece- to call it anymore than a fun game with its fair share of edges would be a bit silly. But it was a damn fun game, and for fans of the IP it was based on, there was plenty to love about it. It is not the sort of gem that will make you wonder why it has the critics that it has – even the game’s biggest defenders will admit that it is a flawed experience – but thanks to how perfectly it captures the essence of the character that it is dedicated to, it’s also a game that has some genuine, undeniable merits.

The shame here is that going back to this game is a real pain, because thanks to expired licenses, it’s delisted on pretty much every platform. Its original console versions, the PS4 and Xbox One remasters, the Steam release- none of them is available, thanks to the fact that Activision’s Marvel license expired quite long ago now.

The question now is- is there hope for a new Deadpool game at any point in the not too distant future? To say that superhero games and games based on licensed properties in general are popular right now would be an understatement. We have seen a deluge of major, AAA licensed games in the last few years, and looking ahead, it doesn’t look like that is going to stop anytime soon. Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, Marvel’s Blade, EA’s Black Panther and Iron Man games, Insomniac’s Wolverine and Spider-Man titles- the list of major Marvel games currently in development across the industry is a long one, and it wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest to see it growing longer still.

Combine that with the fact that Deadpool is a massively popular character – now more than ever, in fact – and you could easily imagine a scenario where a talented studio develops a AAA game based on the property and is actually able to enjoy critical and commercial success. Whether that does actually happen is anyone’s guess, but we desperately hope it does- not least because the one, genuinely solid Deadpool game that we did have to fall back on is impossible to get access to on modern platforms.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Early access went live on November 2nd for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaign. It’s the direct follow-up to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, last year’s sequel to the 2019 reboot, which ended with the tease of Makarov as the next antagonist. There was already concern about churning out a new game in just a year.

Rumors circulated about this year’s premium release being an expansion, but no, it’s a sequel. Maybe good ol’ Activision decided to expand it into a full game. Maybe it didn’t just take whatever content was meant to ship, slap a $70 price and call it a day?

It’s unknown how that whole decision-making process went down, but a handful of hours later, there’s justifiable rage. Some have reported finishing the campaign in about 3 to 4 hours, while others wagered it was about 2.5 hours. Some completed it and managed to refund the game on Steam.

But say you believe HowLongToBeat, which specifies about five hours or so to finish the campaign (with the cutscenes constituting about 37 minutes of the total runtime). Maybe you play on the highest difficulty and die continuously. That would extend the playtime slightly. Not the worst, though every other Call of Duty title has had a longer playtime. On top of that, most didn’t ask for $70. However, this is an expansion sold for the price of a game without the campaign to justify its asking price.

Now, some won’t mind a traditional set piece-heavy campaign which is a few hours long, even if the story is nonsense and insignificant, or that you need to download Call of Duty HQ, which is Modern Warfare 2 with a different name and launch it from there. However, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t offer that.

It offers one decent mission (the opening) and then bombards you with some of the laziest-designed missions since all of Redfall. Those epic missions with crazy set pieces have been reduced – instead, you’ll spend a good chunk, say, about half the game, in Open Combat missions.

They’re not the worst idea on the surface. You enter a large environment that looks suspiciously like Verdansk from Warzone and can take different approaches to complete objectives. There are weapons and equipment to discover, and it’s possible to stack armor and go guns blazing on enemies, sneak around stealthily and much more.

There are even vehicles to control, and you can change loadouts mid-mission since the enemies will adapt to your tactics. It’s like the Revenge System from Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain! Kojima – er, Activision has done it again!

In practice, Open Combat missions are just an excuse to throw you into a large environment with insultingly easy objectives to complete. You can ignore everything to finish them and leave. Even if you want to go around shooting enemies, their AI is horrendous – snipe one enemy without a silencer and not only will nearby allies not care, but they may not even register the noise. Forget a Hitman-style sandbox with numerous creative ways to kill your targets – these Open Combat missions are nothing more than a single-player version of Modern Warfare 2’s DMZ. And DMZ isn’t really all that popular or fun to begin with.

So the traditional campaign missions range from “meh” to boring, with some of the worst storytelling in the franchise yet (which is saying something). The Open Combat missions are a snooze fest, at best and lazily designed at worst. To top it all off, you have to pay $70.

There will be plenty who say that you’re also paying for Multiplayer and Zombies. What about those who don’t want to play Multiplayer, whether because of matchmaking or simply because it’s not for them? Forget the fact that all of the Core 6v6 maps from Multiplayer are also reused from Modern Warfare 2 (2009). Those who care about single-player can’t even jump into Zombies, which has been round-based and soloable in previous titles.

No, they need to play the new and improved Zombies, which is…a PvE extraction shooter, once again set on a Warzone-style map where they must gather resources and extract. It could be acceptable, if not great, but that leaves the campaign, and those who put down their money, expecting something resembling triple-A quality, are out of luck. But at least you can go back and replay any mission in the campaign and try different loadouts. Maybe that will increase the fun factor.

After asking “What” and “How”, one has to wonder: “Why?” Why is this an acceptable standard for campaigns? Yes, it’s Call of Duty, and yes, the same annoying tropes apply across games. But aside from Ghosts and that one Black Ops game that will go nameless, you could at least be assured of a solid campaign. Not only does Modern Warfare 3 fall short of that, but it’s way below the worst entries.

Remember 2011’s Modern Warfare 3 and the missions it delivered? Remember Spec Ops? Remember the finale and the deaths of beloved characters that meant something, where playing Captain Price felt special? That era is long gone, and it’s a shame.

While it’s tempting to direct your ire towards the developers, remember: This was supposed to be an expansion for Modern Warfare 2. The fact that it requires Modern Warfare 2 to run more or less confirms that. Even with so many studios involved in development – Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Treyarch and so on – it would have been a miracle to get a full-fledged release with no reused content out this year, that too at a high level of quality.

Of course, Activision doesn’t care about that or you. Its only objective is to release a new Call of Duty and reap that sweet $70 (with microtransactions, and no, it doesn’t matter if they’re cosmetic only). Granted, it’s one of the highest-selling franchises in the world, year in and year out, so assuming that people would buy it, regardless of quality, isn’t the worst financial plan.

Then again, this is the best year for video game releases since, oh, maybe 2007. It’s not like you have games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Final Fantasy 16, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Resident Evil 4, Street Fighter 6, Dead Space, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon – the list goes on – that people could spend their money on instead.

But hey, if things do go wrong, and fewer people are willing to put down their money than before, Activision is now owned by Microsoft. They can pick up the pieces and figure out what to do. Maybe layoffs for developers who had nothing to do with the decisions that led to this mess.

Long story short, if you buy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for whatever reason, don’t play the campaign. There’s no “so good, it’s bad” appeal or innovative features that stand out amongst the never-ending boredom. The story exists for no reason but to set up the inevitable Modern Warfare 4. Maybe the backlash will become big enough to lead to changes. Perhaps things will improve slightly next year, and we’ll all forget about it. Time, as always, will tell.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

According to Activision, it’s Sledgehammer Games, albeit in partnership with Infinity Ward. Sledgehammer is also “working closely” with Treyarch on Zombies. Beenox, Demonware, Raven Software and High Moon Studios were already confirmed to be on the project. However, Activision Central Design, Activision Central Technology, Activision Shanghai, Toys for Bob and Activision QA are also involved.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launches on November 10th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and PC. It’s a premium release, costing $70, with cosmetics and purchases carrying over from last year’s Modern Warfare 2. Both titles and Call of Duty: Warzone are included in Call of Duty HQ, an upcoming one-stop destination for all Call of Duty content.

Along with Infinity Ward, there’s Sledgehammer Games, Beenox, Raven Software, High Moon Studios, Treyarch and Demonware. It’s worth noting that each studio could be working on separate things – Sledgehammer may be leading development, as previous rumors indicated. Treyarch may be involved in Zombies, rumored to be free-to-play, while Beenox works on the PC version (as with previous titles).

Of course, Raven Software is likely working on the new Warzone 2.0 map reportedly coming in December, while High Moon Studios serves as a support studio. Demonware’s products, like Matchmaking+, are used for matchmaking and stats in Call of Duty. We may see some improvements on those fronts in the sequel.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launches on November 10th and aside from PC, other platforms have yet to be confirmed. It is confirmed that skins and purchases from Modern Warfare 2 will carry over into the sequel, a first for the series.

It also reaffirmed over 650 million users worldwide for Call of Duty Mobile since its 2019 release. Currently, Activision has over 3,000 people working on the series. As revealed recently, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has several Activision studios working on it. Beenox is handling the PC version and providing development support along with Toys for Bob, High Moon Studios, Raven Software and “others.”

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 releases on October 28th for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. For more information on its various editions, head here. You can also learn more about the new multiplayer modes, Hostage and Knockout, here.

As reported by VGC, Activision has got all of its core internal studios working on Call of Duty right now. Sledgehammer Games is the lead developer on the upcoming Call of Duty: Vanguard, while Treyarch is developing the game’s Zombies mode. Meanwhile, additional support is being provided by High Moon Studios, Beenox, Demonware, Activision Shanghai (who are also working on another new mobile Call of Duty title), and Toys for Bob (as previously reported earlier this year).

There’s Raven Software, of course, the studio in charge of Call of Duty: Warzone. Reports have stated on multiple occasions that the studio has been expanding aggressively in order to support the battle royale game on a persistent basis. Finally, there’s Infinity Ward, who are, of course, the original Call of Duty studio.

Interestingly, with Activision currently in the midst of a controversial lawsuit over allegations of widespread discrimination against and harassment of employees following a two year-investigation, the company has seemingly attempted to distance itself from the Call of Duty brand, with their logo or name nowhere to be seen in recent reveal trailer for Vanguard. Read more on that through here.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is out on November 5 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It will be making its gameplay debut at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25.

UPDATE: A statement provided by an Activision representative states that reports of layoffs at Toys for Bob are inaccurate. Read more on that through here.

Original story:

Toys for Bob, known for the Spyro Remastered Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, recently announced that it was supporting development for Season 3 of Call of Duty: Warzone. However, character designer and illustrator Nicholas Kole also revealed on Twitter that “everyone I interfaced with and worked along was let go” from the company. The studio hasn’t been fully shuttered though.

Activision hasn’t revealed the extent of lay-offs at Toys for Bob or whether the developer will support Call of Duty: Warzone past Season 3 (though Kole said this is currently the case). It seems to have pretty much every resource dedicated to its shooter franchise right now. Andy Robinson from VGC revealed on Twitter that, “I was recently told that virtually every studio at Activision is now working on Call of Duty.”

Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Raven Software have long been working on their own Call of Duty titles. High Moon Studios assisted in the development for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Now, Toys for Bob is involved in Call of Duty: Warzone. Vicarious Visions was recently made part of Blizzard Entertainment and is working on Diablo 2 Resurrected.

Call of Duty has long been Activision’s biggest money-maker with Call of Duty: Warzone having over 100 million players since launch. Raven Software has also been on big hiring spree so Warzone is likely to get even bigger in the coming days. As for how this strategy will affect sequels in franchises like Spyro the Dragon or Crash Bandicoot, we’ll have to wait and see in the coming months.

Toys for Bob is proud to support development for Season 3 of Call of Duty #Warzone, and look forward to more to come. #LETSGO dev squads! #Verdansk84 pic.twitter.com/ERmFSWeaIk

— Toys For Bob (@ToysForBob) April 29, 2021

yep

— Nicholas Kole (@FromHappyRock) April 30, 2021

Same! Altho everyone I interfaced with and worked along was let go, I’m very glad it’s not a totally shuttering

— Nicholas Kole (@FromHappyRock) April 30, 2021

I was recently told that virtually every studio at Activision is now working on Call of Duty. https://t.co/Y5TTLwGuqc

— Andy Robinson (@Andy_VGC) April 30, 2021

Infinity Ward will have some help working on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Publisher Activision revealed in a recent press release that High Moon Studios would be assisting as well. It’s not a big revelation – other studios involved include Beenox, which is handling the PC version (with an FOV slider and widescreen support confirmed) and Raven Software.

High Moon Studios’ last title in the franchise with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, which also had Raven Software involved. Since then, the developer has been assisting Bungie with Destiny 2 DLC like Warmind and Forsaken. Many will also remember the studio for its Transformers titles, namely Transformers: War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare recently received its first multiplayer trailer, which you can check out here. Infinity Ward has also talked about modes like 20v20 Domination and the potential for over 100 players on the larger maps. There will be a beta next month with pre-orders receiving early access. Stay tuned for more details – we’ve still a ways to go before the game launches on October 25th.

Destiny 2: Forsaken has been a success for Activision, turning around public perception of the game with several notable changes and improvements and additions. It’s been receiving very good reviews, while fans have also been really pleased with several aspects of the experience. In spite of these major improvements, though, the developers seem to be very aware of the fact that it’s still far from being the finished product.

While speaking with Edge (November 2018, Issue 324), Matt Tieger, vice president and game director at Activision owned High Moon Studios (who co-developed Forsaken with Bungie), talked about how both studios working on the expansion tried to find the balance between listening to fans and doing their own thing, before mentioning that even though they’ve taken significant strides forward with this latest update, there’s still some aspects of the core Destiny 2 experience that need changing.

“There’s a sense of- I wouldn’t say pressure,” Tieger said. “Responsibility is the way we think about it. You do feel the full weight of millions of players expecting you to deliver high-quality stuff, but at the same time you have to try and be careful about how much you read on Reddit, because you can spiral yourself into a negative place.”

“The reality is that there are things that needed to change, and continue to need to change, about Destiny,” Tieger continued. “But by and large it’s a great game and people are ravenous for it- they have such a reaction to it because they care so deeply about the game.”

That’s a healthy attitude to have for any developer, no matter how successful (or not) their game is. If Bungie and High Moon can continue in this direction and make further improvements with future updates and instalments, the series might just one day reach the heights it’s always hinted at reaching. But then again, after The Taken King, it seemed that was where we were headed- which didn’t end up happening.