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Wedbush's Michael Pachter thinks 10 to 20 departures from Modern Warfare 2 developer wouldn't affect its long-term ability to produce high-quality games; maintains "outperform" rating on Activision.

Today, Activision stock lost nearly 2 percent of its value, closing the day down $0.23 at $11.67. The slip came even though the company increased its guidance for the quarter, thanks in part to massive sales of the first map pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. One theory was that news of recent departures of top talent at the $1 billion game's developer, Infinity Ward, was making some investors skittish.

Ever see the movie They Were Expendable?

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter agrees with this theory - and even more thought Modern Warfare 2 manufacturers towards the exit. "We believe that the proportion of recent Activision weakness exacerbated by the additional administration of Infinity Ward which accelerated this week, and we expect another 10-20 employees leave within the next few months," he said in a note sent today.

However, Pachter believes that Activision will be good, even if a higher level developers jump ship Infinity Ward. Commenting on the departure of 11 employees during the last month (Two out today), Pachter said that the "brain drain" won 't harm in the long term.

"In our view, the company will likely replace the departed employees with skilled developers, and while increased competition may impact sales of future versions of Modern Warfare, we expect the company to put out a competitive product," he summarized.

Pachter is maintaining his high "outperform" rating on Activision, offering a target share price of $16.

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