Call of Duty publisher Activision has issued a response to rumors that developer Jason Blundell has been fired from Treyarch. A YouTuber had started a rumor that the Call of Duty developer had been removed from his position at the company for regularly getting drunk and leaking information about Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 to the public.
In a series of now deleted tweets, YouTuber TheGamingRevolution alleged that Blundell was one of 10 Treyarch employees to be let go by Activision as part of restructuring efforts. Activision's decision to fire Blundell was because of the "disasters" of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and Black Ops 4 story campaigns. However, "the last straw was that he kept drinking & giving away leaks whilst under the influence," alleged the YouTuber.
The claims were unsubstantiated but many fans in the Call of Duty community quickly latched onto the rumors, saying that they seemed believable. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 notoriously does not have a story campaign mode, only offering multiplayer modes like the Blackout battle royale, something which not all fans were happy with. The Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 story campaign was also criticized. Fans were quick to believe that Blundell, as the campaign director for Black Ops 3 and the co-studio head for Black Ops 4, would have been in the firing line. As the developer has been missing from several Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 community streams, this just added fuel to the rumors.
However, Activision says that Blundell hasn't been fired. In a statement given to Charlie Intel, the Call of Duty publisher said that "Jason has not been fired, and in fact, he continues to direct the zombies experiences for Black Ops 4." Activision also revealed that "Jason, along with a handful of developers, are working with Activision to develop new creative opportunities."
The Call of Duty series is hugely popular and it's often the subject of rumors. This month, there have been rumors about the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta dates, rumors about the locations on the game's Blackout battle royale map, and rumors that the game's Specs Ops mode has an open world. Activision doesn't typically respond to these rumors, and it's unlikely that the company will comment on other claims and leaks about the series. The rumor about Blundell, though, is officially stamped as fake.
Source: Charlie Intel, Segment Next