Neversoft and Infinity Ward merging into a single studio under ‘Infinity Ward’ name

UPDATE: This merger has been confirmed by Infinity Ward.

Original Story:
A new report from Giant Bomb is stating that Neversoft Studio is losing it’s name and merging with Infinity Ward. Infinity Ward and Neversoft have closely been collaborating on Call of Duty: Ghosts, and such, it seem these two are becoming one ‘super studio’ under the Infinity Ward name.

Giant Bomb reports that Activision CEO sent out a memo:

The news was disclosed through a very recent internal memo penned by Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, that was obtained by Giant Bomb.

The newly merged studio will still be called Infinity Ward.

“As you know, Neversoft and Infinity Ward teamed up for the development of Call of Duty: Ghosts,” wrote Hirshberg. “And through that process, it became clear that the two studios have very complementary skill sets. Between these two excellent studios, it seemed like a single ‘super-studio’ could emerge.”

As a result, however, the Neversoft name will be retired.

“The impact of their 20-year run of hard work and success cannot be overstated,” said Hirshberg. “As already mentioned, we are merging these two very talented teams and obviously had to choose a name for the combined studio. Since the Infinity Ward brand is indelibly tied to the Call of Duty franchise, it is the sensible choice. While it will be strange to not see the Neversoft logo on future games, the important things–which are the Neversoft team’s talent, creativity, professionalism and commitment to creative excellence–all remain unchanged as part of this new chapter.”

Giant Bomb is reporting that Dave Stohl, currently the executive VP of worldwide studios for Activision, will be taking over as Studio Head of this newly merged studio. Steve Akrich, current studio head of Infinity Ward, will remain in a leadership position at the studio.

Giant Bomb is also reporting that current studio head  Joel Jewett and studio director Scott Pease of Neversoft, who have both been at the company for more than 20 years, “have made the difficult decision to retire” from games.

“As a gamer, all I can say is that I hope both Joel and Scott come of ‘out of retirement’ someday and develop more great Activision games for us all to play,” said Hirshberg. “As a colleague of Joel and Scott’s, all I can say is thank you and congratulations on an incredible run.”

The site also reported that the memo finished with this statement:

“I am very much looking forward to what the new Infinity Ward will deliver in the near future,” said Hirshberg.

SOURCE: Giant Bomb