Following the departure of Vince Zampella and Jason West (involved with the creation of Call of Duty), Activision has formed a new business unit to run the CoD franchise. Phillip Earl, who leads Activision's Asia Pacific region, will manage the new unit. Meanwhile, Steve Pearce, chief technology officer, and Steve Ackrich, head of production, will run Infinity Ward.
In addition to forming a new body for CoD, Activision has revealed plans to expand the franchise with a new non-FPS title. Sledgehammer Games, headed by Dead Space veterans Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, will undertake development of the upcoming action adventure title, due in 2011.
In a statement, CEO Mike Griffith said 2010 would be another important year for the Call of Duty franchise. "In addition to continued catalog sales, new downloadable content from Infinity Ward and a new Call of Duty release, we are excited about the opportunity to bring the franchise to new geographies, genres and players."