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Zampella & West lawyer up, file lawsuit

by on05 March 2010

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Seeking $36 million in damages from Activision

Infinity Ward founders Vince Zampella and Jason West have opted to mount up and take on Activision in court. The duo claim in their lawsuit filed on March 3rd that Activision manufactured a basis to fire them in order to avoid having to pay bonuses owed to them that were based on the sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which was developed my Infinity Ward.

What is more interesting than the $36 million in damages that Zampella and West are seeking is the fact that they are looking to once again gain control over the Modern Warfare franchise which, according to their pleadings, is assured by a valid contract that they have with Activision.

Activision has already fired back, claiming that the action filed by Zampella and West is without merit. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is said to prefer to use his lawyers to get his way; and the company response is predictable and canned, as this is the type of rhetoric that occurs when two sides are squaring off for a legal battle.

Kotick could be the biggest wild card in this entire situation, as he has been previously quoted as saying that the best way to run a video game company is to “…cultivate a culture of skepticism, pessimism and fear.” In addition, despite the recent pro-Activision spin, there have been other public comments made by Kotick that could end up hurting Activision’s case.

What is more interesting is the attempt by Zampella and West to regain control of the Modern Warfare franchise, which is where the fans of the franchise will be most interested in. According to what we have been able to learn, Zampella and West were assured creative authority over the Modern Warfare franchise by Activision in a signed Memorandum of Understanding in March, 2008.

We have to think that the heavy handed tactics of Activision against the founders of Infinity Ward could ultimately hurt the studio by turning its core players against the franchise. The bad press alone is likely to make a bad situation worse, and Zampella and West claim they have a valid contract against the corporate giant. While some may think the legal action is about money, in many ways it seems more about what is fair as well as who has the right to creative control. This is far from over and we will bring you updates as we get them.

Last modified on 05 March 2010
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