Kotaku reports that Infinity Ward Lead Designer, Todd Alderman, and Lead Software Engineer, Francesco Gigliotti, have left the company according to posts on their Linkdin profiles. They cite a source indicating that the 2 have resigned:
Though it is impossible to tell, at this point, if these departures are related to Activision’s sacking of studio heads Ward and Zampella a month ago, it would be quite a coincidence were that not the case. Alderman and Gigliotti had been with the company for roughly 8 years each and were very senior. Rumor has it that many IW staffers have remained in the wake of the ugly goings-on at the famed developer as the result of a typical IW contract structure which relies heavily on game royalties – royalties which, for MW2, reportedly have been intentionally delayed by Activision as a means to keep the team in place.
Hopefully, more of this story will reveal itself in the coming days and weeks. Activsion and Infinity Ward have yet to comment publicly on these most recent departures.
Bahaha! Fall Apart Activision!