Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games announces new UK studio

Sledgehammer Games, the developer behind the upcoming Call of Duty: Vanguard, is opening a new office in the UK.

Its new Guildford studio will support Call of Duty: Vanguard’s live seasons as well as “future projects we have planned for the years ahead”, the company said in a blog post announcing the move.

The newly formed team is currently hiring, with positions in art, design, engineering, animation, UI, UX, production and more all open for applications.

“Guildford has a long history of video game development, and as a result, there’s a lot of top-tier talent and an existing game dev community there and in the surrounding towns,” said Liz Wyle, GM of Sledgehammer Guildford. “We’re also an easy reverse commute in from London, which has a huge talent pool.”

Activision-owned Sledgehammer was established in 2009 and is based in California. It has faced significant challenges over the past few years, with the departure of its founders Michael Condrey and Glen Schofield in 2018 and more recently reports that it had co-leadership of a premium Call of Duty game moved to another studio.

Both Condrey (31^st Union) and Schofield (Striking Distance) established new studios close to their old company, and dozens of Sledgehammer employees reportedly left to join them. Sledgehammer has been rebuilding since, also opening new offices in Melbourne, Australia, and Toronto, Canada.

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Call of Duty: Vanguard is scheduled for release on November 5, 2021 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC via Battle.net.

A pair of Vanguard’s writers said this month that they want to help create two sequels to the game. Discussing the upcoming shooter and its prequel comic during a New York Comic Con panel, Sledgehammer contractor Sam Maggs said she hopes Vanguard’s characters can become new mascots for the blockbuster franchise over multiple series entries.

Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Zombies mode will be revealed later on Thursday in a live stream set to air at the same time as Battlefield 2042‘s new Hazard Zone mode is shown for the first time.