One of the most notable names that shaped Call of Duty franchise is stepping down after 22 years.
Treyarch has confirmed that Mark Gordon, its studio head and a 22-year veteran of the company, is stepping down to "focus on his next chapter." Announced via the studio's social channels on June 15, the departure removes one of the most experienced leaders at the Call of Duty-focused developer. In his place, Treyarch's Kevin Hendrickson and Yale Miller will take over as co-studio heads, with the studio describing both as franchise veterans bringing "decades of development and leadership experience" to the role.
Gordon's Two Decades at Treyarch
Gordon's history with the studio runs deep. He joined Treyarch in 2005 as chief technology officer, the same year the studio released its first Call of Duty title, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, and worked his way up to studio head in November 2016. His tenure spans an enormous chunk of the franchise's history, with the studio crediting his impact across Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Call of Duty 3, World at War, and the entirety of the Black Ops series, right up to the recent Black Ops 7. He initially shared the studio head role with Dan Bunting and Jason Blundell, before becoming sole head after Blundell left in 2020 to found the since-shuttered Deviation Games and Bunting departed in 2021, steering Treyarch through releases including Vanguard, Modern Warfare 2 and 3, Black Ops 6, and Black Ops 7.
The New Leadership
Hendrickson and Miller both step up from senior positions within the studio, with Hendrickson having served as Treyarch's COO and Miller as its director of production. Both are long-time veterans of the Call of Duty series through Treyarch and Activision, and the studio emphasised their "shared commitment to Treyarch's culture and creative ambition." They inherit a studio that has been almost exclusively focused on Call of Duty since 2005, a notable shift from Treyarch's earlier years after its 1996 founding, when it produced Spider-Man, NHL, and skateboarding games before the franchise became its sole focus. The pair will guide Treyarch's contributions to Call of Duty's future under Microsoft, which acquired the franchise through its Activision Blizzard purchase, including likely future Black Ops entries and support work on titles like Modern Warfare 4.
Timing and Context
While no specific reason was given beyond Gordon's wish to focus on his next chapter, the departure arrives at a notable moment for Xbox. It comes amid reports of significant restructuring and potential layoffs across Xbox studios under new CEO Asha Sharma, and in the same window as the departure of Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan, fuelling questions about how connected these senior exits may be. The move also echoes the 2023 departure of David Vonderhaar, an 18-year Treyarch veteran who left and went on to found his own studio, Bulletfarm. Whether Gordon follows a similar path remains to be seen, but his exit marks the loss of one of the longest-tenured and most influential figures in the studio's modern history.
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