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David Vonderhaar has been with Treyarch for nearly two decades but has opted to jump to another company, to work on a secret new project.<\/p>\n
With Sledgehammer Games working on this year\u2019s Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Infinity Ward having released 2022\u2019s Modern Warfare 2, Treyarch is no doubt already hard at work on the 2024 entry.<\/p>\n
Any such game, however, will now be made without David Vonderhaar, one of the Call Of Duty franchise\u2019s longest serving veterans.<\/p>\n
Vonderhaar joined Treyarch in 2004, where he went on to work on no less than eight Call Of Duty games, including almost every entry in the Black Ops subseries as a design director.<\/p>\n
He isn\u2019t exiting the games industry though and has already joined another company on a new project. Although he is keeping both the company and the game undisclosed for the time being.<\/p>\n
\u2018To 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,\u2019 Vonderhaar writes on his LinkedIn account.<\/p>\n
He also leaves a message for the Call Of Duty community, saying, \u2018Thank you for your passion and enthusiasm. That energy has often fuelled our determination as a studio and individuals.<\/p>\n
\u2018I 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.\u2019<\/p>\n
Treyarch itself has also wished Vonderhaar well, describing him as \u2018legendary\u2019 in a farewell post on Twitter.<\/p>\n
\u2018Farewell to the legendary David Vonderhaar, whose discipline, creativity & innovation helped shape our games from Call Of Duty 2: Big Red One to Black Ops Cold War. His iconic phrases and groundbreaking ideas will be missed. Excited for your next adventure,\u2019 it reads.<\/p>\n
As for what Treyarch is working on, it\u2019s safe to assume that it\u2019s another Black Ops game. In fact, maps for it already leaked online last year and have contributed to theories that it\u2019ll be set during the Gulf War.<\/p>\n
The timing of Vonderhaar\u2019s exit is interesting though as it comes just months \u2013 possibly weeks \u2013 before Microsoft is expected to confirm its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unknown whether Microsoft will have a retention agreement, preventing top staff from leaving immediately, but even if they do it\u2019s clear that one of Call Of Duty\u2019s top multiplayer designers has already slipped the net. <\/p>\n
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