The custodian developer of Call of Duty Warzone, Raven Software, has grown by almost 50% in one year, according to a report [via VGC].
While Infinity Ward took the initial lead developing Warzone back in 2019, Raven Software is now leading the charge. With such a heavy weight on its shoulders, the studio appears to be on a massive hiring spree.
A report from VGC suggests that Raven has hired over 100 new staff members since August 2020. Of those 100+ new employees, 12 of them are producers, around 40 of them are programmers and testers, over 30 are artists and animators, and about 10 of them are designers.
There are some notable big industry hires from the studio, too. The ex-director of Far Cry 6, Ted Timmins, is among those who have made the swap to Raven. William Fine, a senior producer on rival battle royale Fortnite, is also among the ranks. Manuel Torres Pineda, whose work you might recognise from Apex Legends, is another to join the studio in recent months.
Raven Software is now the custodian of Warzone
Given that Raven Software has always been a support studio for mainline Call of Duty titles, it’s good to see that the studio is beginning to expand into something of its own. Raven has taken immense ownership of Warzone after inheriting it from Infinity Ward. It’s regular and detailed patch notes keep the game well up to date. It’s also recently begun to make a distinct push towards making Warzone accessible for less able players.
Even with the immense number of new hires, the studio hasn’t confirmed whether it’s working on new projects other than Warzone. “Warzone was a smash hit success. All the studios are helping on it, but it’s also additional to our normal Call of Duty schedule,” explains creative director Amos Hodge in a previous interview with VGC. “We have a normal Call of Duty schedule and this is on top of that, so we’ve had to grow really fast.”
It looks like Raven will continue to push forward as the owner of Warzone. With this year’s Call of Duty rumoured to be arriving in the form of WW2 themed ‘Vanguard’, it’s looking to be another busy year for the studio. Warzone is rumoured to be getting a brand new Pacific themed map later this year.
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Featured Image Credit: Activision