On March 3rd we first heard reports of Activision security guards being sent to Infinity Ward's office. It was later confirmed that Infinity Ward studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella were no longer with the company. Shortly thereafter West and Zampella filed lawsuits against Activision, to which Activision filed a countersuit.
Since Zampella and West’s departure, a stream of other Infinity Ward team members have followed their lead and parted ways with Infinity Ward and Actvision. After much speculation as to where West and Zampella would end up; earlier this month the two formed their own studio, to create a new IP financially backed and to be published by Electronic Arts. The real stinger is that their former employers, Activision, relished in the fact that they controlled the Call of Duty franchise. Now, EA has allowed West and Zampella to have control over their new title and studio’s future.
Over the course of April 22nd no less than seven former Infinity Ward developers announced that they had signed with Respawn Entertainment. Several of the new Respawn Entertainment employees have stated that they start work May 1st and will be filling their old positions at the new company.
Sounds like a solid new studio to join DICE and Visceral Studios under the banner of Electronic Arts. It will be great to see Respawn’s title can join Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, and Dante’s Inferno as a part of EA’s attractive new line of IPs. That and I really enjoy it when anything bad happens to Activision.
