Following the Infinity Ward-drama yesterday, Activision have now announced that they are forming a dedicated business unit to oversee the Call of Duty-franchise. The press release says that they intend to "expand the Call of Duty brand with the same focus seen in its Blizzard Entertainment business unit" and that the focus means "high-margin digital online content and further the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models".
This move includes not only a new map-pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that will be released later this year, but also a new "action-adventure" game based on Call of Duty in development at Sledgehammer Games (the studio formed by former Visceral Games employees, such as Dead Space producer Glen Schofield and director Michael Condrey). We can also expect a brand new Call of Duty, developed at Treyarch, later this year.
The press release goes on to state that the Call of Duty business unit "will be led by Philip Earl, who currently runs Activision Publishing's Asia Pacific region and previously served in senior executive positions with Procter & Gamble and Nestle. Activision Publishing veterans Steve Pearce, chief technology officer and Steve Ackrich, head of production, will lead Infinity Ward on an interim basis". It also coldly states that "Jason West and Vince Zampella are no longer with Infinity Ward."