David Vonderhaar, one of the most prominent and longest-tenured senior developers on Activision’s long-running Call of Duty series, has announced that after nearly 20 years at Treyarch, he is moving on to other things.
“Today I am sharing that I have left Activision and Treyarch after an incredible 18 years and 8 Call of Duty games,” Vonderhaar wrote in a LinkedIn post. “To my co-workers at Treyarch, I am immensely grateful for the time we invested working to improve our craft, never sitting on successes, and always wondering how to improve what we design and how we produce it.
“Thank you to the Call of Duty community for your passion and enthusiasm. That energy has often fueled our determination as a studio and individuals. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to interact with so many of you directly online and in person. This energy will always be a massive part of me.”
Vonderhaar’s first Call of Duty game at Treyarch, according to MobyGames, was on the 2005 console exclusive shooter Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, on which he served as senior online manager. He then moved up to multiplayer lead designer for Call of Duty 3, took on the multiplayer/online design director role for World at War and the first two Black Ops, and became studio design director for Black Ops 3.
Vonderhaar says he’s staying in the game business, working on “a rare and unique opportunity” that he can’t talk about just yet.