Call of Duty: WWII co-directors exit studio after nearly a decade

Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, co-founders of Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games, are leaving the studio behind. Schofield, Condrey and publisher Activision announced that the veteran designers, who directed last year’s Call of Duty game, will move into other roles at Activision instead.

“We thank Activision for the wonderful opportunity to create and lead Sledgehammer Games,” said Schofield in a statement. “Now, it’s time to try other things. Activision has offered me the opportunity to focus my energy on something I’m very passionate about, exploring new game ideas for the company. It’s something I just couldn’t pass up.”

Activision referred to that opportunity as “executive duties” inside the company, which will take both Schofield and Condrey away from the frontlines of game development to work on other projects. Activision had no comment regarding what these particular projects will entail.

The studio will continue working on all planned WWII content despite this shake-up, Activision told Polygon. To replace Schofield and Condrey as head of Sledgehammer Games is Aaron Halon, who most recently worked on one of the downloadable map packs for WWII. He was one of Sledgehammer’s founding members, and previously was a lead designer on all three of its Call of Duty games as well.

Condrey and Schofield founded Sledgehammer Games in 2009, after striking up a partnership while working at Electronic Arts. Their earlier credits include games like Dead Space and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Since Sledgehammer Games started under Activision, however, the studio has primarily developed titles in the shooter franchise.

Its most recent release, Call of Duty: WWII, launched to mixed reviews last November. Sledgehammer’s other two Call of Duty games — Modern Warfare 3 and Advanced Warfare — received warmer responses. Yet Activision said just after WWII’s launch that the game had sold a record-setting number of copies, greatly outperforming the disappointing Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

Update: Halon had several other notable credits at Sledgehammer Games prior to his new position. We’ve added those above.