Call of Duty creators fired, walked out of the office, and then turn around and sue Activision. Fun times!
Geez - you head north for one reader event and everything goes to hell. Well, more accurately, everything goes to hell for Activision and Infinity Ward.
As of a few hours ago, Infinity Ward is down two senior staff, Activision's announced its intention to wring every last cent out of the Call of Duty franchise, and those two senior staff have filed a lawsuit against the company. Forget gaming on a Hollywood budget - this is gaming with Hollywood drama.
Here's how it started: first rumours, then reports - via gaming site G4 - that bovver boys showed up at Infinity Ward's offices. IW bigwigs Jason West and Vince Zampella had earlier met with Activision, and hadn't been seen since that meeting. G4 did a really good job of following its own internal sources at IW (who reported that everyone in the office was feeling really 'freaked out' and 'confused'), the twitter and LinkedIn feeds of those involved, and other news sites like Kotaku.
The picture that emerged through a series of updates on the 2nd was anything but good. Activision cited "breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward". West put it even plainer in a Facebook update: "Jason West is drinking. Also, unemployed."
And now, comes the news that Zampella and West are taking legal action against Activision. Here's an excerpt from a press release announcing the legal action:
"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."
As G4 continued to report, the suit is alleging "breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrong termination in violation of public policy, and declaratory relief." It's also become apparent that West and Zampella have been under investigation for some time - the suit alleges that this was preemptive action designed to push them out.
Considering the huge financial impact of Modern Warfare 2, this is a fascinating development, especially given Activision's plainly stated intent to "focus on high-margin digital online content and further[ing] the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models."
Which is scary stuff, really, and starts to show just what might have been pissing off West and Zampella. Call of Duty is their baby, and it's obvious that the heart of the matter between them and Activision is how that brand gets treated - or, as the case may be - exploited. With legendary underachievers Treyarch already set to release the next chapter in the CoD franchise, it looks like we're in for an interesting ride. Stay tuned.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012