Treyarch, the Xbox-owned studio behind Call of Duty’s Black Ops games, has announced studio head Mark Gordon is retiring from his role after 22 years with the company.
Gordon’s influence extends all the way back to 2005’s Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Treyarch’s’s first-ever Call of Duty title. Since then, he’s helped shape the developer’s evolution from a Call of Duty support studio to one of its lead architects, having been heavily involved in the development of World at War and the creation of the Black Ops series.
Gordon became studio head in November 2016, initially sharing the responsibilities with Dan Bunting and Jason Blundell. Blundell left Treyarch in 2020, however, and Bunting departed in November the following year, amid reports of sexual misconduct allegations.
“After an extraordinary 22 years with Treyarch, our own Mark Gordon has decided to retire from his role as studio head to focus on his next chapter,” Treyarch said in a statement announcing Gordon’s departure. “We’re incredibly grateful to Mark for his steady guidance and deep care for the studio, its culture, and its people. Mark’s impact on the [Call of Duty] franchise has been immeasurable.”
The developer has also confirmed Treyarch veterans Kevin Hendrickson and Yale Miller will now lead the studio as co-studio heads following Gordon’s departure. The pair have “decades of development and leadership experience”, it added, and both bring “a wealth of deep game knowledge and a shared commitment to Treyarch’s culture and creative ambition.”
The timing of the news is interesting when viewed through the lens of Xbox’s current ‘reset’ campaign, and the resulting leadership shake-up. This week has already seen two high-profile departures in Craig Duncan and Louise O’Connor, who left their positions as head of Xbox Game Studios and chief of staff respectively. These leadership changes come as Xbox reportedly prepares for larger cuts that may result in several studio closures.
