Long-time Treyarch lead David Vonderhaar has left the studio

While Call of Duty is no longer seen by many to be the industry juggernaut that it once was, the annual FPS franchise continues to be one of the best selling games of the year every single year. One of the lead minds at Treyarch during the rise of Call of Duty was David Vonderhaar – but after almost two decades at the studio, the Lead Design Director has announced his departure.

In a post published to his LinkedIn, Vonderhaar announced the news, saying “Today I am sharing that I have left Activision and Treyarch after an incredible 18 years and 8 Call of Duty games. To my co-workers at Treyarch, I am immensely grateful for the time we invested working to improve our craft, never sitting on successes, and always wondering how to improve what we design and how we produce it.”

He continued, “Thank you to the Call of Duty community for your passion and enthusiasm. That energy has often fueled our determination as a studio and individuals. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to interact with so many of you directly online and in person. This energy will always be a massive part of me.”

In discussing his future plans, Vonderhaar confirmed that “I am staying in the games industry, working on an undisclosed project I can't discuss yet, but I am excited about a rare and unique opportunity. I'll update you as soon as possible.”

Following the departure of Dave Antony and Jason Blundell a couple of years ago, it seems as though Treyarch has lost many of its known figureheads. While this could be an indication of the studio’s current status under Activision and soon-to-be-Microsoft, it is equally as likely that after working at the same place for almost 20 years, Vonderhaar simply wants to try something new. It will be interesting to see what he does next.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of David Vonderhaar? Is his departure a big blow for Treyarch? What do you think he’ll do next? Let us know down below.

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