The Ongoing Saga of Infinity Ward and Activision

[VA1N]

If you've been following my front page posts, you undoubtedly know about what happened between Infinity Ward and Activision earlier this week. Well, some time has passed and the dust is settling and things seem just as screwed up as they were then. In my previous post, I told you all about Activision firing the two top heads of Infinity Ward, Jason West and Vince Zampella. This has been confirmed by both Activision and the two fired. Activision opened an investigation into the two heads and made a filing with the SEC about wrongdoing and shady business on the two's behalf. We don't know what that is all about just yet, but I'm sure it will be made public soon.

Well, not to sit by silently while their name and company is rubbed in the dirt, West and Zampella have filed a suit against Activision over claims they are owed "substantial royalty payments." According to the pairs lawyer Robert Schwartz, "Activision has refused to honor the terms of it's agreements and is intentionally flouting the fundamental public policy of this State (California) that employers must pay their employees what they have rightfully earned...Instead of thanking, lauding, or just paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of 'insubordination' and 'breach of fiduciary duty,' which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st."

The two that were fired are also in shock over the decision by Activision to fire them. According to them, "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...After all we have done, we shouldn't have to sue to get paid."

Another noteworthy addition to this lawsuit is that West and Zampella are after the contractual rights Activision granted them to control Modern Warfare games. Whether or not this means that they want to make the games on their own or make sure Activision can't make any more is unclear at the time.

Activision has sent around an internal memo to Infinity Ward employee's telling them that Infinity Ward will remain "central to Call of Duty's future." Having worked in corporate America for a few years myself, I can tell you what's going to happen. Since the two heads of the company were axed, they are going to do one of two things: a) form their own company or b) join a competitor of Activision. When they do one of these, their old buddies over at Infinity Ward are going to jump ship and try to come over to their company. Infinity Ward is going to go down in flames while another company is going to get all of the talent.

While the Call of Duty franchise will no doubt live on (Treyarch is putting out the next game) it looks like Modern Warfare games are going to hit a speed bump. Will Infinity Ward be the company that puts them out or will it be handed to another company? At this point, who knows? The courts are going to have to decide. Whatever does happen though, rest assured I'll keep you all in the loop.

Update:

Kotaku recently published an article describing the details of the lawsuit the two former heads of IW recently filed. I have copied and pasted it below with a link to the full article above it.

Ex-Infinity Ward Heads Fire Back At Activision's "Insubordination" Claims In Lawsuit - Infinity Ward - Kotaku

The lawsuit filed against Activision by two ex-Infinity Ward leads alleges that the publisher of its Modern Warfare games carried out an "Orwellian," "pre-ordained" investigation designed to "manufacture a basis to fire" them in order to avoid paying them bonuses. That suit, filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on March 3, was filed by founders Jason West and Vince Zampella in an attempt to be paid royalties earned from the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and to regain rights to the Modern Warfare line of games.

West and Zampella's lawsuit claims that Activision is simply trying to withhold (or reduce) bonus payment on the billion dollar selling Modern Warfare 2. In a dig at the publisher's CEO Bobby Kotick, the suit notes this is "not surprising, given that Activision is run by a CEO who has been publicly quoted as believing that the best way to run a videogame studio is to engender a culture of 'skepticism, pessimism, and fear' and who prefers to pay his lawyers instead of his employees."

The two are seeking "in excess of $36 million" in damages.
In the suit, Infinity Ward's ousted founders claim that Activision refused to honor its agreements with the development studio, agreements that granted the Call of Duty creators creative authority over "any Call of Duty game set in the post-Vietnam era, the near future or the distant future" and any title under the Modern Warfare brand. No such game, the suit reads, "can be commercially released without the written consent of West and Zampella."

That agreement, legally a Memorandum of Understanding, was signed by West, Zampella, and Activision Publishing president Mike Griffith in March of 2008. That MOU, the lawsuit explains, was signed to induce the two to continue as co-heads of Infinity Ward, grant certain royalty arrangements for Modern Warfare 2 sales and games built on Infinity Ward's technology, and to "ensure that Infinity Ward employees received rewards for their hard work."

The suit against Activision contends that the publisher opted not to honor the MOU or West and Zampella's employment agreement, but to "launch a pre-textual investigation…to create a basis to fire the two co-heads of Infinity Ward before the first Modern Warfare 2 royalty payment would be paid..."

"From the very beginning, it was clear that the purpose of the investigation was not to uncover any facts concerning any actual wrongdoing, but to manufacture a basis to fire West and Zampella," the lawsuit reads.

West and Zampella claim that the publisher refused to explain the basis of the investigation, insisting "in Orwellian fashion" that the two "already have a clear understanding of what they have or have not done."

"Anything less than their full cooperation with the inquisition would constitute 'insubordination," which would justify the firing of Zampella and West.

"Activision conducted the investigation in a manner designed to maximize the inconvenience and anxiety it would cause West and Zampella," the lawsuit claims, alleging that the two were "interrogated for over six hours in a windowless conference room" and that other Infinity Ward employees were "brought…to tears" by Activision investigators.

[danimoose]

This is probably going to get ugly. I'm guessing alot of IW's people could jump ship because of no comp. clauses in contracts. I think that the guys who were axed will join a rival to take on the MW franchise that they built. I could see them going to MoH. Alot of the smaller guys though unless there canned will have a hard time going to a direct competitor.

[VA1N]

If you guys are interested, here is a link to the legal papers of the lawsuit the two axed members filed.

Ousted Infinity Ward Founders' Lawsuit Against Activision (The Court Documents) - Infinity Ward - Kotaku

If you are a hardcore IW fan or really want to know whats going on, read it. Otherwise, here is the summary...The two guys axed feel they were fired to avoid paying royalties and money owed. There were outside lawyers brought in and people were questioned. When the two heads of IW tried to contact their lawyers they were told that Activision would make matters worse if they did. The events of them getting fired took place and now they want about 36 million dollars plus full control of MW and Call of Duty games set in the present, near future, and distant future.

If there's one good thing to come out of this, it's that last line I typed...distant future. My dream game is a "Distant Future Warfare"

[danimoose]

VA1N why don't you and the "Laser" get a fricking room. lol.
Yeah I don't think they will get control any part of the COD franchise nore do I think it would do anything good for them. I believe that if they succeed in getting it that it would be the death of the franchise they would have the same game devlopers that they have had for the last two would take a different turn.

[VA1N]

Just posted an update to the article with a really nice summary of the legal documents done by Kotaku.com.

[JPetrillo]

This is sorta crazy! So now the court decides the Call of Duty fate. We should get a pool going for who we think will get the rights to publish the game! Infinity Ward or some new company?

[VA1N]

Activision is going to win overall because they have the money to outlast any onslaught of legal proceedings. Infinity Ward may be able to make off with the Modern Warfare name though, which if they can, will be awesome. But, Infinity Ward have stated that they want to stop making only Modern Warfare games and do some new IP's (which Activision said no to, since MW games make them crazy amounts of money). We'll have to see how it turns out though.

[xiaoxiao246]

As far as MW2 is concerned, I have seen them being played they are on the disc and people have "Hacked" them and played private games, also theres a new game type Thermo-nucleur war. Yes half of them are old maps from COD4 and others are new ones.