Jason Blundell, the co-head of Call of Duty developer Treyarch, has departed the company after thirteen years. Where he’s heading next isn’t know, but it’s the end of an era for fans of the series’ Zombies game mode.
We wish to thank Jason for his many contributions to Treyarch. We’ve enjoyed our journey together and wish him the very best going forward! pic.twitter.com/Tb8o36VWb2
— Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) February 28, 2020
It seems to be a happy departure, for Blundell, who’s been a part of the team since becoming a producer on Call of Duty 3. He is, however, best known for his work on the co-op Zombies game mode. He headed up both Zombies and the main story in Black Ops 3, helped revive the entire Zombies saga in the Zombies Chronicles expansion, and continued to lead the Zombies mode for Black Ops 4.
The question might be what’s next for Zombies, but it’s also what’s next for Call of Duty as a whole? We’re yet to see the announcement of this year’s Call of Duty and how they’ll follow on from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, but insider sources have suggested that Activision have drafted Treyarch in to lead Call of Duty 2020’s development.
This would be a surprise on several levels, as this generation had seen Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Sledgehammer taking turns on a three year development cycle. Additionally, the development of Black Ops 4 was not particularly smooth. It saw the series forego a single player campaign for the first time, allegedly scrapping the extensive work that had already been done on this, and had them embracing the battle royale genre. That worked very well, with the game selling like hotcakes, but the various monetisation methods that crept into the game angered fans.
So, Treyarch have been reportedly put in charge of 2020’s Call of Duty, taking Raven and Sledgehammer under their wing and transforming whatever work had already been done into Black Ops 5. Losing a key figure like Blundell at a time like this isn’t exactly ideal…
