Activision Vs. Former Infinity Ward Studio Leadership, Plenty of Lawsuits and Unsubstantiated Charges For Everyone

If you haven’t heard yet, Activision escorted former Infinity Ward Studio leads Vince Zampella and Jason West out of their lovely office space bouncer style on March 1st, just a few short days ago. The publisher is reporting that the two were performing acts that they believe to be “breaches of contract” and “insubordination.” However, Jason and Vince have no plans of going down without a fight.

The two state that Activision hired a legal team at some point last year to find a way out of paying them what they rightfully deserved, in addition to freeing themselves from an agreement granting the two creative reign over the Call of Duty franchise.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP attorney Robert Schwartz, acting as legal representation for Jason and Vince, has issued the following statement:

“Modern Warfare 2 is arguably one of the most successful games in history and together with Call of Duty, has generated more than $3 billion in sales for Activision. In addition, Activision seized control of the Infinity Ward studio, to which Activision had previously granted creative control over all Modern Warfare-branded games. The suit was filed to vindicate the rights of West and Zampella to be paid the compensation they have earned, as well as the contractual rights Activision granted to West and Zampella to control Modern Warfare-branded games.”

“Activision has refused to honor the terms of its agreements and is intentionally flouting the fundamental public policy of this State (California) that employers must pay their employees what they have rightfully earned … 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.”

Those really late to the party should also know that Activision purchased Infinity Ward back in 2003, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that the Call of Duty/Modern Warfare brand has continued to grow and sell sequels like hotcakes. It’s very possible that the creators and the publisher had a falling out over the direction the franchise was heading.

This heated battle appears to just be getting started. Will Jason and Vince win one for the little guys of the world and take their IP elsewhere, or will Activision ultimately gain full control giving birth to the inevitable classic — Hero of Duty, plastic rifle peripheral sold separately.