Treyarch

Treyarch is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California, founded in 1996 by Peter Akemann. Activision acquired the studio in 2001. Treyarch is best known as one of the primary developers of the Call of Duty franchise, responsible for the Black Ops sub-series and the Zombies cooperative mode. The studio alternates development of mainline Call of Duty entries with Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games on a roughly three-year cycle.

Early History and Licensed Games

Treyarch spent its first years developing licensed games across PlayStation and Nintendo 64 platforms before its Activision acquisition. The studio worked on a number of Spider-Man games in the early 2000s, including the well-received Spider-Man 2 tie-in in 2004 that was praised for its open-world web-swinging. Treyarch’s first Call of Duty contribution was Call of Duty: Finest Hour in 2004, a console-exclusive entry in the early franchise, before Call of Duty 3 in 2006 became the studio’s first numbered mainline entry.

Call of Duty: World at War and Zombies

Call of Duty: World at War released in November 2008, shifting the franchise’s setting from World War II’s European theater to the Pacific and Eastern Front. It received strong reviews and sold over three million copies in its first week. More significantly, World at War introduced the Zombies mode, a cooperative survival experience where up to four players fought waves of the undead across contained maps. Zombies became one of the most popular co-op modes in gaming and has appeared in every subsequent Treyarch Call of Duty entry, developing its own elaborate mythology across multiple games.

The Black Ops Series

Call of Duty: Black Ops released in November 2010 and became the best-selling game in the franchise at the time of its launch, generating over $650 million in its first five days. Set during the Cold War with a narrative built around Mason, a CIA operative whose unreliable memories form the story, it was notable for its willingness to tell a more ambitious story than previous Call of Duty entries. The Black Ops sub-series continued with Black Ops II (2012), Black Ops III (2015), Black Ops 4 (2018), Black Ops Cold War (2020), Black Ops 6 (2024), and Black Ops 7 (2025). Black Ops II was particularly ambitious, featuring a branching narrative with multiple endings based on player choices.

Microsoft Acquisition

Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in October 2023, bringing Treyarch under Xbox Game Studios alongside Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and the rest of the Call of Duty development network. Call of Duty titles have continued to release annually under Microsoft’s ownership, with the franchise remaining available on PlayStation platforms as a condition of regulatory approval. Black Ops 6 launched day one on Xbox Game Pass in October 2024.