Tony Hawk studio Neversoft bids farewell, burns eyeball effigy

Today is the final day of independent operation for 20-year-old games studio Neversoft, best known for its work developing Tony Hawk's titles and later Guitar Hero games.

The veteran developer celebrated its own demise by setting fire to a large effigy of its iconic logo - an eyeball on a stick - and by gifting a massive monogrammed Bowie knife to each of its employees.

Neversoft's staff are being amalgamated into Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward to create one single super-studio, it emerged back in May.

The decision was made after Neversoft aided Infinity Ward on last year's Call of Duty: Ghosts, and comes several years after the studio last worked on a major franchise of its own.

Neversoft pumped out a Tony Hawk's title every year from the series' 1999 original up until 2007's Tony Hawk's Proving Ground.

2007 also saw the studio pick up the then-lucrative Guitar Hero license, which it developed from that year's Guitar Hero 3 up until 2010's Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

Neversoft's staff are presumably already at work on a future Call of Duty instalment, although one that will no longer feature that famous logo.

This is what Joel gave all of @neversoft on their last day of the studio today. (Yoinked Mike's pic from FB) pic.twitter.com/LveyTOTYbH

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