Treyarch has announced that studio head Mark Gordon is retiring after 22 years with the team. The studio said Gordon is stepping away to focus on his next chapter, and credited his work across Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty: World at War, and the entire Black Ops series.
Stepping into the role are Kevin Hendrickson and Yale Miller, who will lead as co-studio heads. Treyarch described both as franchise veterans with decades of development and leadership experience, and pointed to a shared commitment to the studio’s culture and creative direction. The announcement closed by thanking Gordon for his leadership and friendship over the years.
Gordon’s exit also lands at a turbulent moment for Microsoft’s gaming division, which owns Treyarch through Activision. Last week, XBOX leadership published a reset memo laying out the business’s financial troubles, and Bloomberg has reported that major layoffs are expected across the division shortly after Microsoft’s fiscal year ends on June 30, possibly including a studio closure or two. The churn at the top has been ongoing, too. Phil Spencer “retired” in February and Asha Sharma took over as Microsoft Gaming CEO, and just today the head of XBOX Game Studios, Craig Duncan, announced he’s leaving after 15 years.
Treyarch’s most recent project, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, is already out and in active post-launch support, the first time the franchise has run back-to-back Black Ops titles. Treyarch built that game with Raven Software.
