David Vonderhaar, one of Call of Duty's most veteran developers, has left Treyarch and Activision entirely. Vonderhaar, who started at Treyarch in October 2004 and had been there ever since, is leaving the company to "explore new opportunities."

　　Posting on LinkedIn, Vonderhaar said he is "immensely grateful" to his teammates at Treyarch "for the time we invested to improve our craft, never sitting on successes, and always wondering how to improve what we design and how we produce it."

　　You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

　　Click To Unmute

　　State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023

　　How Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Kazuma Kiryu Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Saeko Mukoda Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Eric Tomizawa Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Joongi Han Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Tianyou Zhao Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Seonhee Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Koichi Adachi Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Yu Nanba Character Spotlight Trailer

　　Share

　　LinkEmbed

　　Size:640 × 360480 × 270

　　Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop

　　Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

　　Sign up or Sign in now!

　　Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

　　This video has an invalid file format.

　　00:00:00

　　HTML5

　　Auto

　　Report a problem

　　Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

　　By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

　　Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

　　enter

　　Now Playing: Modern Warfare 3 - Shadow Siege Reveal Warzone Event

　　Vonderhaar was Treyarch's studio design director and was on the leadership team at the company. He started at Treyarch in 2004 and started his career there with 2005's Call of Duty 2: Big Red One.

　　Vonderhaar actually joined Activision for the first time in 1996, when he was a senior online manager until 2000. He left Activision to join Intuit and then GameSpy, before coming to Treyarch in 2004. Activision acquired Treyarch in 2001.

　　"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 said.

　　Vonderhaar will stay in the video game industry for his next gig. He said he is "working on an undisclosed project" that he can't talk about yet. "I am excited about a rare and unique opportunity," he said.

　　Treyarch released a statement saying goodbye to Vonderhaar. The studio said Vonderhaar's "discipline, creativity, and innovation" helped shape Treyarch's games over the years. "His iconic phrases and groundbreaking ideas will be missed," the studio said.

　　Farewell to the legendary David Vonderhaar, whose discipline, creativity & innovation helped shape our games from COD 2: Big Red One to Black Ops Cold War. His iconic phrases & groundbreaking ideas will be missed. Excited for your next adventure. #ThankYouVahn

　　— Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) August 18, 2023

　　Treyarch's latest project is the Zombies mode for Modern Warfare III, which features the biggest map in the history of the mode. Treyarch is rumored to be the main developer of 2024's Call of Duty game.

　　Under Vonderhaar's leadership, Treyarch created the uber-popular Zombies mode for Call of Duty, which debuted in 2008's World at War. Treyarch also created the fan-favorite Black Ops series and took Activision's first steps into the battle royale space with Blackout, which would later evolve into the massively popular Call of Duty: Warzone.