More Infinity Ward Staffers Depart As Respawn Hire Count Grows

by Mike Bendel April 26, 2010 @ 11:51 pm


Update: Bump up the total count of IW departures to 25. That’s close to one-fourth of the entire studio. We’ve just learned that lead programmer Robert Field, HR vet Kristin Cotterell and designer Charlie Wiederhold have parted ways with the studio, in addition to level designers Kevin Bell and Preston Glenn.

The rash of departures at Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward continues as word emerges that lead character artist Joel Emslie has taken leave of the Activision-owned company, along with artists Ryan Lastimosa and Brad Allen.

Additionally, former IW employees Chris Lambert and Brent McLeod are the latest to jump ship to Respawn Entertainment, Jason West and Vince Zampella’s recently launched, talent-seeking development quarters. Lambert previously held a senior software engineer position at IW, while McLeod was responsible for design work.

The duo have updated their LinkedIn profiles to reflect the job change. As a result, the number of employees at Respawn has climbed to 12. That count includes top brass West and Zampella themselves.

No word on where the latest round of IW defectors will end up. Chances are at least one of them will follow suit and join Respawn.

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