Both Alderman and Gigliotti had been with Infinity Ward since the monster-selling series began with 2003's Call of Duty, with Alderman's contributions to Modern Warfare 2's ridiculous bombastic story helping it earn a nomination for a Writers Guild award.

While the circumstances surrounding Alderman and Gigliotti's split from Infinity Ward are yet unknown, rumours received by Kotaku suggest that the pair resigned.

Their departures from Infinity Ward come weeks after studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired by owner Activision for reasons including "insubordination," leading to the pair suing Activision and signing up with a Hollywood talent agency.

Activision has created a dedicated Call of Duty division and its expansive plans for the shooter series include bringing in another developer alongside IW and CoD: World at War developer Treyarch to dabble in "the action-adventure genre."