Activision responds to West and Zampella's EA deal: "It comes as no surprise"
- — 13 April, 2010 10:22
Activision has sent an official response to GamePro regarding the former creative heads of Modern Warfare 2 signing on with arch-rival EA.
Jason West and Vince Zampella, who were sacked from Infinity Ward for 'insubordination' last month, today announced their new studio: the cheekily named Respawn Entertainment. The studio has a exclusive publishing and distribution deal with games juggernaut Electronic Arts.
"This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against Jason West and Vince Zampella," Activision said in a statement.
In other words, Activision is citing the distribution deal as proof of West and Zampella's improper activities during their employ.
"We look forward to continuing to work with Infinity Ward's deep bench of proven talent on exciting new projects" Activision added.
Meanwhile, Jason West has claimed to be "excited" about the move to a new studio. "Now that the team is in control of the games and brands, we can ensure that the fans are treated as well as they deserve", he stated. (A sly reference to Modern Warfare 2's beleagured PC community, perhaps?)
It will be interesting to see whether Call of Duty fans will jump on board with Respawn Entertainment; especially in regards to new IP. When Guitar Hero's original development team made a similar leap to EA, sales of their new game Rockband failed to match the established brand.
In the meantime, the battle of the lawsuits between Activision and West/Zampella rages on. Two senior developers have already left Infinity Ward after West and Zampella; we'll see who else (if anyone) follows.
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A history of gaming's biggest scandals
Infinity Ward scandal: Did Activision kill the goose that laid the golden egg?
