West, Zampella Settle with Activision in Modern Warfare Lawsuit

It seems the high-profile Legal Warfare between Activision and former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella has come to an end, with an announcement that all parties have reached a settlement coming days before the case was due to go to trial.

West and Zampella filed suit against their former publisher back in 2010 alleging that the company withheld "substantial royalties" owed to them following the success of Modern Warfare 2. Instead, Activision fired the pair as part of an "investigation" into "insubordination". It got ugly, with West and Zampella forming new studio Respawn and new partner EA getting caught in the crossfire.

Now, Activision has stated in a press release that "Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) today announced that all parties to the litigation have reached a settlement of the dispute, the terms of which are strictly confidential.

"The company does not believe that the incremental one-time charges related to the settlement will result in a material impact on its GAAP or non-GAAP earnings per share outlook for the current quarter or the calendar year, due to stronger-than-expected operating performance in the current quarter."

Respawn Entertainment issued a statement that simply said, "All parties to the litigation have reached a settlement of the dispute, the terms of which are strictly confidential."

Electronic Arts, on the other hand, said, "Activision's refusal to pay their talent and attempt to blame EA were absurd. This settlement is a vindication of Vince and Jason, and the right of creative artists to collect the rewards due for their hard work."

Via Joystiq