14 DAY TRIAL // Publisher Electronic Arts, Vince Zampella and Jason West, two high profile ex Infinity Ward leaders, have announced the creation of a new development studio, called Respawn Entertainment, which will be designing AAA videogames, probably set in the first person shooter genre. At the moment, Respawn is trying to put together a team of designers, artists and engineers, and has not yet unveiled any clear future projects.
Vince Zampella, who is now the general manager of Respawn Entertainment, stated that “Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me. For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We’re very proud of what we built - and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again - open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA.” The other high profile ex Infinity Ward employee, Jason West, added, “We’re excited.”
The press release announcing the creation of the new development studio also reveals that “the move positions the Respawn Entertainment leadership team as the owners of the intellectual property they create,” a clear dig at Activision Blizzard, the company which pushed both Zampella and West out from their positions at Infinity Ward.
When the two left, it was rumored that they were in a dispute with their publisher related to who owns the rights to the Call of Duty franchise and to the Modern Warfare name. They were also accused of putting off the development of Modern Warfare 3 to get more leverage in their negotiations. They accused Activision of acting in an arbitrary manner. There's also clear irony in the two returning to Electronic Arts, considering that Call of Duty was created by a team who initially put together Medal of Honor.