David Braben, speaking in an interview with CVG, has shared his opinion that “Infinity Ward as we know it is dead.” With over a third of the original Modern Warfare 2 development staff (that third mostly being comprised of senior level developers) leaving the studio in what has been frequently described as an exodus, Braben also believes that the Modern Warfare brand will never be the same.

David Braben is a veteran game developer, having worked on the revered space trading game Elite and its spiritual successor, Frontier. More recently he has worked on LostWinds, a WiiWare download service launch title, and is currently working on a new title, The Outsider. With this pedigree behind his name, Braben wasn’t pulling his punches as he lambasted Activision.

Braben said that when Infinity Ward leads Jason West and Vince Zampella were forced to leave the studio, it had left it a “different company.” Braben said that the actions of publisher Activision“highlights the way the board level management appear not to value their own teams, or even understand what it is they care about.”

“Whatever happens now, Infinity Ward as it was, is dead. The ‘brand’ may live on, but a company is its senior staff. Without them it is a different company, and at the very least will need all its seniors replacing – either by promotion from those remaining, or from outside,” Braben elaborated.

“That is not to say that those others might not do a really good job of making it work, but it will have a different mindset, a different approach, a different balance of experience. Tools and tech will carry over, but a company is a lot more than that. Give me Respawn, any day,” he concluded.

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