Last year it was announced that ex-Call of Duty developers Jason Blundell and Dave Anthony‘s newly formed studio Deviation Games is partnering with PlayStation on a brand new AAA IP for the console manufacturer. Unfortunately, nothing has been shown from this game so far, and now to add a spanner into the works, Blundell has announced his departure from the freshman studio.
Making the announcement on Twitter, the official Deviation Games account said “Deviation Games is announcing that Jason Blundell has left the studio. We appreciate the contributions Jason has made and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. Deviation will continue to be led by CEO Dave Anthony, who also assumed the role of Game Director this past year and remains a guiding force as we look ahead.”
While somewhat concerning, especially as the company has yet to release its first game, the studio did reveal a whole host of new hires, saying:
“We are excited to announce that Louis Castle has joined Deviation Games as Senior Vice President of Development. A video game industry veteran with two Lifetime Achievement awards, Louis co-founded Westwood Studios best known for creating the legendary Command and Conquer franchise.”
Other new recruits include God of War alumni Jonathan Hawkins and Dean Rymer as well as Call of Duty: Black Ops “guru” Tony Flame, meaning that despite Blundell’s departure, “This plethora of talent makes Deviation uniquely equipped to continue leading the ever-evolving games industry into the future, including with the continued development of our previously-announced, groundbreaking AAA original IP.”
The circumstances surrounding Blundell’s departure are unknown, meaning that there is little point in jumping to conclusions. Hopefully development goes smoothly even in his absence, and that we get to see our first look at the game soon.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this statement? Are you concerned for Deviation Games? Could they be developing a COD killer? Let us know down below.