14 DAY TRIAL // Jason West and Vince Zampella, the Infinity Ward co-founders and ex leaders, have filed a lawsuit against publisher Activision, accusing the company of breaching the contract it had with them and abusing its position as it ousted them from Infinity Ward. Activision is accused of: breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrong termination in violation of public policy and declaratory relief.
They will be represented by lawyer firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP and it seems that the main issue is linked to “substantial” royalty payments, which the two never received although they were entitled to after the phenomenal success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the game that sold best in 2009 and brought in more than 1 billion in revenue for Activision Blizzard.
After the duo was fired, Activision announced plans to deliver a new Call of Duty title this year, Sledgehammer Studios taking over the creation of another game for 2011. Plans have also been announced to deliver a Call of Duty MMO that will be free to play but will only target audiences in Asia.
Robert Schwartz, the lawyer who is set to represent the two ex Infinity Ward employes, stated that “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.”
Jason West himself opened up, saying that “We were shocked by Activision's decision to terminate our contract. We poured our heart and soul into that company, building not only a world class development studio, but assembling a team we've been proud to work with for nearly a decade. We think the work we've done speaks for itself,” Vince Zampella adding, “After all we have given to Activision, we shouldn't have to sue to get paid.”