Activision loses Call of Duty lead game designer, lead software engineer

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Is Activision undergoing a brain drain? After the Santa Monica publisher fired the heads of its Infinity Ward studio, which makes the Call of Duty franchise, two other longtime developers have departed.

The news, first reported on the video game news site Kotaku, has been confirmed by the sources close to the developers.

The two developers in question are Todd Alderman, who was Infinity Ward’s lead game designer, and Francesco Gigliotti, its lead software engineer.

Kotaku referenced the pair’s LinkedIn profiles, which list their work at Infinity Ward under ‘past employment.’ According to their LinkedIn resumes, Gigliotti had been at Infinity Ward from September 2002 to April 2010, while Alderman’s tenure extended from April 2002 to April 2010. Whether they resigned or were fired is unclear. Calls to Actvision were not immediately returned.

Their exits follow the dismissal of the studio heads, Jason West and Vince Zampella, on March 1. The two sued Activision three days later, for $36 million, claiming breach of contract and wrongful termination. The question is: Have Alderman and Gigliotti joined West and Zampella as brothers in arms?

Updated 4:45 pm to include confirmation of Gigliotti’s and Alderman’s departure.

-- Alex Pham