Glen Schofield, the veteran director best known for his work on Dead Space and the Call of Duty franchise, has officially announced his retirement from the video game industry. In a video posted to LinkedIn, the 35-year industry veteran thanked his family, his former colleagues at Electronic Arts and Activision, and the broader community that supported his work over the decades.

Quick Facts

  • Career Span: 35 years, beginning in 1991.
  • Notable Credits: Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol, and Call of Duty entries Modern Warfare 3, Advanced Warfare, and WWII.
  • Recent Activity: Post-2025 focus on visual art and generative AI.

Reflecting on his tenure, Schofield described his career as having a "front row seat to one of the greatest creative explosions in history." However, his departure arrives during a challenging period for the industry. Following the 2022 release of The Callisto Protocol and his subsequent exit from Krafton’s Striking Distance Studios, Schofield struggled to secure funding for a new horror concept. He noted that while there was initial interest in his pitch, the budget expectations from publishers had shifted from $10 million down to $2–5 million, making the project unfeasible.

Industry Challenges and the Future

Schofield has been vocal about the difficulties currently facing developers. He pointed to the post-COVID industry malaise, rising development costs, and the ongoing wave of layoffs at major studios like Xbox, Bungie, and Ubisoft as significant hurdles. He also highlighted the impact of hardware cost increases, specifically citing the strain placed on resources by the AI industry’s demand for storage and RAM.

Since failing to get his latest horror project off the ground, Schofield has pivoted toward visual art and generative AI. During his 2025 Gamescom Asia keynote, he championed generative AI as a creative tool, though he remained skeptical of claims regarding fully automated game development, famously dismissing Elon Musk’s suggestions that xAI could build a game from scratch as "full of crap."

Despite the current climate, Schofield remains optimistic about the path forward for the next generation of creators. "I know times are tough right now, but man, the future ahead is really, really bright," he said in his farewell message. "And I wish you all the next generation of game makers the best of luck. Explore, experiment, enjoy. And don't forget that the most important thing is the idea."