Call of Duty studio co-lead Dan Bunting quits Treyarch after WSJ report

After an investigation by the Wall Street Journal into a claim of sexual harassment against Treyarch (Call of Duty) developer, Dan Bunting has resigned. Bunting’s departure is part of a larger story about Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick’s awareness of and response to serious sexual harassment allegations at the publisher’s owned studios, including Sledgehammer Games and Treyarch.

Wall Street Journal reports that Bunting, who was accused of sexual harassment against a 2017 female employee, came under internal investigation. According to the Wall Street Journal, Bunting was recommended for firing. However, Kotick intervened, and Bunting was permitted to continue in his current position.

An Activision spokesperson told the Journal that “other disciplinary measures” were imposed on Bunting, and the Journal reports that he left Treyarch after the newspaper inquired about the accusation and investigation. An Activision spokesperson confirmed Bunting’s departure in an email to Polygon.

Activision photo

Bunting, an 18-year Treyarch veteran who worked on Call of Duty titles and served as the co-studio director alongside Mark Gordon for nearly a dozen. Treyarch’s most recent game, and Bunting’s, was 2020’s Black Ops – Call of Duty Cold War, but the Santa Monica, California-based team also worked on this year’s Vanguard, Call of DutyDevelopment of the Zombies Mode for the Sledgehammer Production.

Activision Blizzard and the studios are still dealing with the consequences of a July lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. That suit alleged that Activision Blizzard fostered a “frat boy culture” that allowed for gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment at the company and its studios. J. Allen Brack was a former president of Blizzard. He is accused of knowing and enabling this behavior. Activision Blizzard faces numerous lawsuits and federal investigation into its handling of harassment claims.