What are Activision-Blizzard working on - A look at their studios
When 2022 started, no one could have predicted that Activision-Blizzard was going to stick a ‘For Sale’ sign on their front yard, or that Xbox would snap them up for $70 Billion bucks, but that is exactly what happened.
Of course that deal has not closed yet and is still likely to be many months away from closing, at least if a few select government groups stop attempting to understand games. So without that deal, there is still a lot going on for the company, so lets dive into their various groups and see what we can work out.
ACtivision
Activision Shanghai
Series known to them: Call of Duty Online
For the longest time the Shanghai studio for Activision was dedicated to Call of Duty Online, a China exclusive title, but with that dead for quite a while now, the studio has been moved to providing support to other Call of Duty games, something that will be a recuring theme in this list.
2022 saw the studio providing a lot of support to Warzone 2.0 alongside Raven Software, who also took over the work on Call of Duty Online from the studio. Given their work is focused on Warzone 2.0, I would not expect to see anything else from this group in this calendar year, mostly as the seasons of content for the game are likely locked in. The studio is also working on Call of Duty Warzone Mobile, which makes sense given their history with the main release.
Beenox
Series known to them: Skylanders series, Spider-Man series
For a number of years Beenox were both a port studio and an original developer but after a few Spider-Man titles failed to thwip some big results in, they were assigned instead to be a support studio for other Activision companies. The last few years the studio has been quite silent on their work, they were responsible for the PC port of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 last year, but they were not the lead studio there. Interestingly though, in March of 2022 it was announced that Beenox was getting a second studio, the original is located in Quebec City, but the new one will open in Montreal.
With roughly 300 staff, they are quite a large studio and while many years ago they had multiple dedicated teams, lately its all support. Given there is a new Call of Duty on the way this year, along with more Crash Bandicoot, the studio is likely being used to supplement development of those games. The studio were the ones responsible for the 2020 campaign remake of 2009’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, not to be confused with the game of the same name that released last year. So it is possible that the third game could get the same treatment, or as the bringers of Crash Team Racing to modern players, something new there could be on its way. Sadly though, we know that the studio is working on Call of Duty Warzone Mobile and while it is unlikely to be all of them, the ones who are not, will be working on the console Call of Duty.
Demonware
Series known to them: Game development support
Demonware are not a traditional developer, the studio works on the network side of development, allowing companies to create their games, while they ensure they can be played online.
The studio is actively working on Call of Duty Warzone for mobile, again focusing on the network side of the game, but it is nice to see them getting a bit more attention.
Digital Legends Entertainment
Series known to them: Battlefield Bad Company 2 for Mobile
Digital Legends Entertainment is a weird studio, not because of what they are working on, but rather that they are a mobile focused studio and they don’t live under the King brand. The studio was new to Activision last year and the game they had was shuttered in mid Jan, with Activision confirming that they would now be working on a mobile Call of Duty game, and we know it is Warzone.
The game has soft launched in selected regions, Australia being one of them, but as the game is not 100% there will be changes in store for players. With this release the studios focus is going to be entirely on that, so don’t expect anything else from them this year.
High Moon Studios
Series known to them: Transformers: Cybertron series
I feel that for all the remaining Activision groups the same line can be used, last year the studio helped ship Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. This is the same thing that they have been doing for a few years now, so nothing is going to change, which is a shame as the Cybertron series of Transformers games, which are now 12 and 10 years old, were amazing.
The studio is likely already working on this years Call of Duty game, whatever it is called, but interestingly they are doing a host of hiring, from VFX artists to multiplayer designers. Of course, there is a good chance those roles are for Call of Duty, but there is hope for something else, as some of the roles list open world game development as something they would love. Sadly until whatever this project is, gets officially announced, there is little chance of us hearing from the studio.
Infinity Ward
Infinity Ward
Series known to them: Call of Duty series
2022 was a big year for Infinity Ward, they released Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to the reboot of their own Modern Warfare series. While the anticipation was big for the game, the multiplayer was of course the focus, both the games own and the expected Warzone 2.0. The games launch was the biggest in the series history, which is of course a big deal.
With the release of the main game last year, all that we should hear from the studio this year is related to the seasons for both Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0, so that will be it for them
Infinity Ward Poland
Series known to them: Call of Duty series
The Polish studio for Infinity Ward is a few years old now and while they are a tech development studio and as such are responsible for the photogrametry that the engine uses, which allows for higher level visuals. Normally we wouldn’t worry to much about a tech focused studio, but something interesting happened in 2022.
A job listing was put up, then removed, that pointed towards the hiring of a narrative director, with the following dot point included:
Your role is to provide the best narrative and cinematic experience in an open world RPG.
Of course, that could have resulted in nothing or could be something special. Poland is home to a large number of developers as well, so an open world Call of Duty game, could be a thing. However given the size of the studio, there is no chance we are likely to see it this year.
Infinity Ward Mexico
Series known to them: Call of Duty series
The Mexico City office for Infinity Ward is a sister studio to the main one in California, they provide support for whatever project the studio is focusing on. As such they are going to be working on new content for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 as the year progresses.
Infinity Ward Austin
Series known to them: Call of Duty series
The Austin studio for Infinity Ward is a newer studio, so they are not doing a whole lot yet. In fact they are still actively hiring for a bunch of positions. Given their staffing up still, they won’t be doing much this year, except maybe helping out on Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.l0 when required.
Raven Software
Series known to them: Star Wars: Jedi Knight series, Soldier of Fortune series
2022 was a great year for Raven Software, I will get the basic thing out of the way, they worked on Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 and will continue to do so this year, along with Call of Duty Warzone Mobile. The reason why 2022 was a great year for the studio was that they formed a union.
Before everyone screams and shouts, the total number of staff in the union was only last reported at 28 and the studio has some 350 staff, but it is a start. Most importantly, current CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed that the company would begin negotiations with the group. The reason why all that is big is that videogame developers in America have never had a union, here in Australia we have Game Worker Australia, and have for a number of years, but this is the first for the yanks. With all the news around exploitation of workers and more, unions for game developers are a very good thing.
Sledgehammer Games
Sledgehammer Games
Series known to them: Call of Duty series
Sledgehammer Games have been pretty quiet since they shipped Call of Duty Vanguard in 2021, with 2022 being focused on post game content. With the switch to Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 you can expect that the studio will slow down on Vanguard content, but they will still keep things alive for a bit longer.
As they are now in the off period of development, as in they are not the studio leading the charge for the 2023 game, so hearing much from them this year is unlikely.
Sledgehammer Games Melbourne
Series known to them: Call of Duty series
Founded back in 2019, the Melbourne office, yes that is Melbourne Australia, is a sister studio to the main office in California. The studio works in partnership with the main office, so like them, we are unlikely to hear anything from them this year, if you want to work for them though, they are looking for a number of roles.
Sledgehammer Games Toronto
Series known to them: Unknown
In May of 2021, Sledgehammer Games announced a new Toronto studio, they spent the rest of that year staffing up and so they did not have much to do with Vanguard. Once Sledgehammer has the lead for Call of Duty again, likely to be in 2025, if the rumours of an off year next year pan out to be true, they will support that game.
Sledgehammer Games Guilford
Series known to them: Unknown
In October of 2021, Sledgehammer Games announced a new Guilford studio…. hey, that seems very familiar. Yes, much like their Toronto location, they spent the end of 2021 and most of 2022 staffing up. They will be supporting development of whatever the next Call of Duty game is from Sledgehammer Games.
Solid State
Series known to them: Nothing yet…
In 2021, Activision spun up this new studio to focus on mobile games, much like Digital Legends they live directly under Activision and not King, but hey. In May of 2022, the studio revealed Project Aurora was their first title and many expected it to be Call of Duty Warzone for Mobile, ourselves included, that was confirmed later in the year.
The game has soft launched in some countries, Australia included, but the full launch is likely to happen later in the year. So expect the studio to focus on the development of the game, along with other studios in the list.
Toys for Bob
Series known to them: Skylanders series, Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Call of Du… wait, no. Toys for Bob is not working on Call of Duty this year, well at least it is not their primary focus, unlike in 2022. The studio worked on Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time and once that released, they were put on support for Call of Duty, but that changed when the studio officially revealed Crash Team Rumble.
The game is due out later in the year, but there is no firm date, however with that in mind the studio is going to focus on getting that game out the door. The group are not known for releasing a lot of information as games are in active development, but as we get closer to release, you can expect to see more from them.
Treyarch
Series known to them: Call of Duty series, Spider-Man series
2023 is the year for Treyarch as they are the lead studio for Call of Duty again, 2022 saw them provide more content for 2021’s Vanguard, specifically for the Zombies mode. They also worked with Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games to help align all the various modes, so you can carry all your progress with you, no matter the mode or game you play in the series.
With 2023 being their year in charge, expect to hear more from them once the game is officially announced, just there is no telling on when that is. In years past the games have been revealed in May, but last year saw the game revealed in August. So we now just play the waiting game, but whatever the studio is working on, should be fun as they usually are.
Blizzard
Team 1
Series known to them: Starcraft
This listing has been kept as a reminder of what happens when management gets greedy and demands a game be made and shipped, long before its ready. Team 1 were the folks that took care of Starcraft for many years and were given the task of making Warcraft 3: Reforged and when the bombed, the team was axed. Staff were given the chance to apply for other positions within the company, but many of the staff left and formed new studios, including Frost Giant Studios, who have announced their debut game Stormgate.
Team 2
Series known to them: World of Warcraft
Team 2 are the folks that make World of Warcraft both the Classic title and what players call Retail, which is the one that got the Dragonflight expansion last year, you can read our review on that here. 2022 was a massive year for this group, as they not only announced and shipped Dragonflight, they also announced and shipped Wrath of the Lich King for WoW Classic.
With the new expansion and classic expansion out last year, you might think there won’t be much from this team in 2023, but that could be inaccurate. So far, for WoW Classic, the team have shipped the first two expansions back to back, with The Burning Crusade and then Wrath of the Lich King in 2021 and 2022 respectively. If the team keep that pace up, then we could see Cataclysm release sometime in 2023, but until that gets announced there is no way of knowing. Outside of that, expect to see more for WoW retail as the game gets new dungeons and raids as the year goes through, but a major expansion is unlikely, as those come every two years.
Team 3
Series known to them: Diablo
The 3rd arm of Blizzard’s main team based structure, Team 3 (see it lines up) is the Diablo group, meaning that all Diablo happens from this group. The Team 3 group is actually made up of two parts, there is the Diablo Legacy team, who focuses on the legacy games in the series and Blizzard Albany, formerly known as Vicarious Visions. 2022 was an odd year as Diablo Immortal fully released and they finally revealed the release date for Diablo IV, but that was mostly it.
With the release of Diablo IV happening this year, for both PC and consoles, a lot of the focus on this group is going to be on getting that game out the door. For those who prefer Diablo Immortal, that game is going to chug along for now, hopefully sticking to the planned two-week release cycle for updates and content drops. Any major additions for that will likely be announced around April, but for now its just going to be small releases. Outside of content updates to Diablo III and Diablo II: Resurrected, the focus will be on shipping Diablo IV, so don’t expect anything else.
Team 4
Series known to them: Overwatch
Team 4 is the Overwatch team, so they are the folks that are working on your new favourite free-to-play title. Of course, in 2022 the early access launch of Overwatch 2 happened and broke Overwatch 1 for fans of that title. As a free-to-play game, Blizzard made the decision to basically turn off the first game and force all players across to the new one. Many players were not happy with that, nor the other base changes to Overwatch 2, but there are some players who don’t care. The year ended for the game with Season 2 kicking off and that will run until the end of the first week of February.
With that release date now locked in, Season 3 should launch soon after that and as the seasons tend to last around 2 months, that means there will be more to enjoy as the year goes on. In total there should be another 4 seasons for players to enjoy across the year, if not a 5th one at the end, but there is a lot to happen before then. The game is still in its early access phase and while that could just be a way for the developers to avoid lot checks from the console makers, it could also allow for them to make massive changes throughout the year. No matter what happens, Overwatch 2 is only just getting started and how it shakes out from here, is anyone’s guess.
Team 5
Series known to them: Hearthstone
2022 saw a massive expansion release for Hearthstone, it saw a few expansions, but the big one was the March of the Lich King, which not only brought in more lore to the game, it also added a new playable character class. The Death Knight really shuffled things up, allowing for new cards and card types to be played, which could have massive impacts on all games that were being played. There were of course two additional expansions in 2022 Voyage to the Sunken City in April and then the Murder at Castle Nathria in August.
2023 should have the team running to their usual schedule, they tend to drop three expansions as the year plays out, usually March/April, then July/August and the November/December. What might disrupt that is that Chris Metzen has returned to Blizzard and if the name is unfamiliar to you, you should change that, as the man is one of the creators of Diablo and Starcraft. His hiring is to oversee all Warcraft related projects, of which Hearthstone is one of. There is no word on what changes, if any, will be made for this, but given the amount of contributions he had to the lore of Warcraft, including World of Warcraft, it can only be a good thing.
King
King
Series known to them: Candy Crush series
Much like in 2021, 2022 saw King release just he one new mobile game Rebel Riders, a PvP game that has you battling it out in a secret underground club, oh and yeah, you are a toy. Sadly, just before Christmas last year, the mobile giant revealed that Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!, the 2021 mobile game, would be shutting down in 2023 and this isn’t an end of year thing, the game will go offline on February 16th. There was no reason provided as to why and given that their parent company Activision owns the IP, it can’t be a licencing thing, sadly that is how the games industry works sometimes. 2022 also saw the group purchase Peltarion, an AI Software company that is based in Europe, there was no word as to what that tech would be used for though.
There is a fair chance that King will drop a new title in 2023, as they have done since the company started up and they do offices in multiple locations around the world. The problem is that the mobile games industry is so shy, that until a game is formally announced, there is no way of knowing what, if anything, someone is working on. The studio will keep adding content to their most popular games, Candy Crush Saga, Bubble Witch Saga and so on, but beyond that, until they announce something, we just have to wait and see.
So there you go, all the studios from Activision-Blizzard and what they are working on, or our guesses as to what they are doing. Given that this might be the last year for Call of Duty, if the 2024 break is true, that could allow those developers the chance to spread their wings into other genres, but who knows. With a new Crash Bandicoot on the way though, it should be a whumping good year.
