They officially open the doors May 1st and seven ex-Infinity developers will be joining them. More staff departures from the Acti studio are expected.
"I have accepted a job with Respawn Entertainment," twittered Jon Shiring, reports G4TV. "I can't wait for May 1st!" the programmer said. A number of the developers have updated their Facebook, LinkedIn profiles and twitter accounts with similar news.
Joining Respawn from Infinity Ward:
Modern Warfare 2 lead designers Todd Alderman and Mackey McCandlish, lead animators Mark Grisby and John Paul Messerly, lead environmental artist Chris Cherubini, software engineer Rayme Vinson and programmer Jon Shiring.
At least 13 staff have left the Call of Duty developer since West and Zampella were forcibly removed from the Activision payroll. Analyst Michael Pachter believes the exodus may peak higher yet but Acti will have little trouble refilling seats.
Respawn Entertainment is now an EA Partner, which means EA will publish and distribute games they make but ownership of the IP remains with West and Zampella.
