Ex-Infinity Ward Heads Sue Activision
Apparently Activision owed them money before they got fired.
The Activision-Infinity Ward debacle is starting to get uglier. Former studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella are now filing suit against the publisher for breach of contract following an incident that resulted in a termination of their employment.
Activision's reasoning for targeting the two developers was announced as in 'investigation' into 'insubordination'. Today, comments from the lawyer representing West and Zampella suggest that money and IP rights could have been a factor in what transpired. The press release detailing the lawsuit states that the two were owed "substantial royalty payments", but that Activision kicked them out before the payment due date.
Robert Schwartz, attorney, explained the suit more clearly; "Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of 'insubordination' and 'breach of fiduciary duty,' which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st."
West and Zampella are seeking compensation for unpaid royalties, as well as a regaining of the contractual rights to the Modern Warfare brand.
Activision announced just yesterday that a new Call of Duty game is being developed by new studio Sledgehammer Games, leaving Infinity Ward's involvement with the series up in the air.
Activision's reasoning for targeting the two developers was announced as in 'investigation' into 'insubordination'. Today, comments from the lawyer representing West and Zampella suggest that money and IP rights could have been a factor in what transpired. The press release detailing the lawsuit states that the two were owed "substantial royalty payments", but that Activision kicked them out before the payment due date.
Robert Schwartz, attorney, explained the suit more clearly; "Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of 'insubordination' and 'breach of fiduciary duty,' which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st."
West and Zampella are seeking compensation for unpaid royalties, as well as a regaining of the contractual rights to the Modern Warfare brand.
Activision announced just yesterday that a new Call of Duty game is being developed by new studio Sledgehammer Games, leaving Infinity Ward's involvement with the series up in the air.
Read More Like This
Comments
MarkD1990 4 Mar 2010 12:19
1/1
West and Zampella should be able to win this case, I also think they should regain their right to the Modern Warfare brand since they were the ones managing its development while at IW. Plus SledgeHammer Games making COD won't be the same, hopefully it will still be good.