Respawn isn’t canceling secretive third game after losing director

Respawn is losing a creative director. Mohammad Alavi announced on social media that he is leaving the studio to pursue his “next adventure.” Alavi has spent his career at Infinity Ward and Respawn Entertainment, and he is best known as the designer of the No Russian level in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Most recently, he worked as creative director on Respawn’s next big secret project. The studio does not plan to scrap that work, according to people familiar with the game. Publisher Electronic Arts expects to launch it in 2024 or 2025.

(1/2) Today was my last day at Respawn Entertainment. It feels surreal. I've made games for 18 years ever only at two companies: Infinity Ward and Respawn. 11 of those years have been at Respawn, a company I helped form.

— Badmofo | Mohammad Alavi (@iambadmofo) January 11, 2022

Respawn has only ever confirmed small tidbits about Alavi’s game. It is a third project alongside continuing development of Apex Legends and the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The studio has also previously said it is a single-player adventure. In addition to those details, I’ve learned it is a first-person shooter with triple-A ambitions, and the design team is striving for “mobility” and “style” as guiding principles.

This third game is not, however, a sequel to Titanfall 1 and 2.

Respawn will continue to spend the next year or more prototyping concepts for its new game. It will then build that work into a final product.

As for Alavi, he says this is “the end of an era.” He did not say where he is going next, but the industry is flush with cash at the moment. Big companies are spinning up new studios and investors are backing proven creators with big checks for even bigger bets.

In this environment, it is more normal than ever for key creatives to move on to better opportunities. And few studios have more proven creators than Respawn.