User:X201/West and Zampella v. Activision

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http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-23-activision-vs-vince-zampella-and-jason-west-inside-the-game-industry-trial-of-the-decade

http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/25/activision-vs-west-and-zampella-case-delayed-participants-speak-out/

http://gamepolitics.com/2012/05/16/activision-v-west-and-zampella-court-case-revelations

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http://www.develop-online.net/topics/tag/vince+zampella


http://www.develop-online.net/topics/tag/jason+west

________________[edit]

West and Zampella v. Activision is an ongoing legal case that originated with the sacking by Activision of Jason West and Vince Zampella from Activision owned video game developer Infinity Ward.

Background[edit]

Prior history[edit]

Infinity Ward is an American video game development company that was founded by Vince Zampella, Grant Collier and Jason West in 2002.


[1]

[2]

Activision helped fund Infinity Ward in its early days, buying up 30 percent of the company. The studio's first game, World War II shooter Call of Duty, was released on the PC in 2003. The day after the game was released, Activision purchased the rest of Infinity Ward, signing employees to long term contracts. Infinity Ward went on to make Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Co-founder Collier left Infinity Ward in early 2009 to join the parent company Activision.

Dismissal of senior employees[edit]

On March 1, 2010, Activision amended its report with the Securities and Exchange Commission to add notification that two senior employees of Infinity Ward were being fired due to "breaches of contract and insubordination". This coincided with Jason West (Infinity Ward president, game director, co-CCO, and CTO) and Vince Zampella (CEO and co-founder of Infinity Ward) editing their profiles on the website LinkedIn to list Infinity Ward as a former employer as of March 2010. Reportedly, a meeting between Zampella, West, and Activision staff occurred on March 1, after which neither Zampella nor West were seen; this was followed by the arrival of security guards at the studio.[3][4] It was later confirmed by Activision that West and Zampella had been dismissed, and had been replaced on an interim basis by Activision CTO Steve Pearce and head of production Steve Ackrich.[5]

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick addressed Infinity Ward studio heads on March 2, 2010 about Zampella and West's dismissal. A second meeting was held with all of Infinity Ward's employees on hand. The outcomes of those meetings are currently unknown,[6] but Activision has explained that Infinity Ward is still "central" to the future of the Call of Duty franchise. Activision have used a new studio, Sledgehammer Games, to create an "action-adventure" installment of the Call of Duty franchise. However, Activision halted the production of the action-adventure game which was reportedly 2–3 months into production and requested Sledgehammer Games to work side-by-side with Infinity Ward to make Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 instead.[7]

Further departures[edit]

Following West and Zampella's firings, nearly half of the remaining Infinity Ward employees resigned. Throughout April and May 2010, 46 employees, among them lead designers and programmers who worked on Modern Warfare 2, abruptly left Infinity Ward. All have so far declined to comment on their reasons for leaving.[8]

Infinity Ward "Fully" Reconstructed[edit]

Vivendi chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy stated that Infinity Ward "got over" their problems and are fully reconstructed and that Activision is very happy with the result. The executive went on to say that there will be three studios working on the Call of Duty franchise including the newly formed studio Sledgehammer Games.[9][10]

Lawsuits[edit]

West and Zampella v. Activision[edit]

Following the initial news of West and Zampella's departure, it was reported that Infinity Ward has not received royalties from the sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and that the developer may have breached their contract with Activision by holding meetings with other video game publishers including Electronic Arts.[6][11] This was revealed to be the reason behind the firings when West and Zampella filed a lawsuit against Activision on March 4, 2010 over "substantial royalty payments" that Activision failed to pay them in the weeks leading up to their firing. According to their attorney Robert Schwartz, Activision had hired lawyers to investigate West and Zampella on charges of insubordination and breaches of contract in February, which culminated in their dismissal. West and Zampella's lawsuit was filed to force Activision to compensate West and Zampella for the unpaid royalties, and to secure contractual rights over the Modern Warfare branch of the Call of Duty franchise, among other things.[12] If their lawsuit is successful, West and Zampella could retain the power to halt the development and release of any future games and downloadable content in the Modern Warfare setting.[11]

On April 9, 2010 a countersuit was filed by Activision stating their actions in firing Zampella and West were justified, calling the two "self-serving schemers".[13] Zampella and West's attorney responded to the countersuit the same day saying the publisher's claims are "false and outrageous".[14] The trial date for this case was revealed on July 9, 2010 to be scheduled for May 23, 2011 but now is rescheduled for December 14, 2011 at the Central Civil West Courthouse at 9:00 am, case number SC107041.[15] The countersuit mentioned that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is in development, and it is scheduled for release on November 8, 2011.[16]

Infinity Ward Employee Group v. Activision[edit]

On April 27, 2010, 38 current and former employees of Infinity Ward brought a lawsuit against Activision. Calling themselves the "Infinity Ward Employee Group" (IWEG), the plaintiffs seek between $75 million and $125 million in compensatory damages from Activision for unpaid bonuses for work on Modern Warfare 2. The lawsuit alleges that Activision withheld compensation from the plaintiffs in order to force them to stay with the studio and develop Modern Warfare 3.[17] In addition, the plaintiffs are also seeking between $75 million and $500 million in punitive damages.[18] The trial date for this case was revealed on July 9, 2010 to be scheduled for May 23, 2011.[19]

Lawsuits against EA, West, and Zampella[edit]

Activision amended its lawsuit against West and Zampella to join Electronic Arts (EA) as a defendant on the grounds that EA began a conspiracy with West and Zampella.[20] [21] In the complaint, Activision accused Electronic Arts of intentionally interfering with contracts, engaging in unfair competition, and aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty by West and Zampella. The complaint also alleged that West and Zampella refused to sign standard exit documents representing that they had returned all Activision property, including computer code. Activision alleged West and Zampella were "motivated by envy and personal greed" and intentionally released game trailers for Modern Warfare 2 the same day Treyarch posted promotional videos for downloadable content for Call of Duty: World at War. The article also showed a transcript of text message between West and an unnamed Infinity Ward employee.[22] In January 2011, the court will rule on Activision's petition to join EA as a defendant. The trial date between Jason West and Vince Zampella vs. Activision is currently set for now June 14, 2011 at the Central Civil West Courthouse at 9:00 am, case number SC107041.[15] The date for the Infinity Ward Employee Group court hearing is May 7, 2012.[23]

Respawn Entertainment[edit]

Main article: Respawn Entertainment

On April 12, 2010 the LA Times reported that West and Zampella were forming a new independent gaming studio known as Respawn Entertainment. They are seeking funding from EA through the EA Partners Program. West and Zampella will incorporate the rights to all intellectual property produced by them in the future.[24][25][26] As of July 10, 2010, 38 of the 46 Infinity Ward employees who resigned from that studio following the firings of West and Zampella revealed through their LinkedIn and Facebook profiles that they had signed on with Respawn Entertainment.[8][27] Respawn has begun work on its first project and is slated for release in 2013 with some teaser images posted on their website.

Departure of Robert Bowling[edit]

On March 27, 2012 Robert Bowling issued the following statement on his Twitter account: "Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist of Call of Duty, as a lead of Infinity Ward, and as an employee of Activision". In response to this, Activision issued the following statement, "We sincerely thank Robert for his many years of service. He's been a trusted and valued member of the Infinity Ward team. We wish him all the best on his decision to pursue future opportunities".[28] Bowling has not made any official statement about why he left or what he plans to work on next, but one of his followers on Twitter asked him why he resigned, he responded "You have to work on games that you're passionate about, and at this time, my passion lead me in a different direction".

Signs of disagreement between Bowling and Infinity Ward arose in a live interview with Machinima when he is quoted as saying the following: "I feel like we are in a f*cking era where everyone is so focused on subscriber numbers and all that stuff that we need to get back to what I feel like we did so much better in the old days of just plain good will, like stuff like the LAN patch, yeah it is lower priority but let’s get it out the f*cking door. Let’s just do it." This could be a contributing factor to his resignation.[29]


  1. ^ "The Modern Warfare Fight: Your Guide to Activision Vs. Infinity Ward". Kotaku. 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  2. ^ "IGN Presents: The History of Call of Duty". IGN. 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  3. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2010-03-02). "Top Infinity Ward devs fired for 'insubordination,' lawsuits 'expected' - News at GameSpot". Gamespot. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  4. ^ Fahey, Mike (2010-03-03). "Report: Modern Warfare Dev Head Leaves Company". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  5. ^ Gonzalez, Annette (2010-03-02). "Activision's Future Plans For Call Of Duty Call For New Developer - News". GameInformer. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  6. ^ a b Kollar, Phil (2010-03-01). "UPDATE: Infinity Ward Vs. Activision". GameInformer. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  7. ^ "Fall of Duty: Activision reveals new franchise plans". GamePron. 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  8. ^ a b "Who Remains At Infinity Ward ?". Cynicalsmirk.com. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  9. ^ Tor Thorsen (2010-11-19). "Infinity Ward 'reconstructed' - Vivendi CEO". GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  10. ^ Tim Bradshaw (19 November 2010). "Vivendi sees continued success for COD franchise". Barcelona: Financial Times. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  11. ^ a b Walker, Richard (2010-03-04). "Future Modern Warfare Releases Could Be Vetoed By West and Zampella". Xbox360Achievements. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  12. ^ Reilly, Jim (2010-03-04). "Infinity Ward Founders File Lawsuit Against Activision". IGN. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  13. ^ Reilly, Jim (2010-04-09). "Activision Countersues Former Infinity Ward Execs". IGN. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  14. ^ Reilly, Jim (2010-04-09). "West and Zampella Respond To Countersuit". IGN. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  15. ^ a b http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/civilcalendar/?CaseType=Civil
  16. ^ Reilly, Jim (2010-04-09). "Modern Warfare 3 In Development". IGN. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  17. ^ Ryckert, Dan (2010-04-27). "Activision Sued By New "Infinity Ward Employee Group"". GameInformer. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  18. ^ Reilly, Jim (2010-04-27). "Infinity Ward Group Sues Activision For Unpaid Bonuses". IGN. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  19. ^ Activision Vs. Infinity Ward Trial Date Set - PS3 News at IGN
  20. ^ Alex Pham (23 December 2010). "Activision sues Electronic Arts, seeks $400 million over Infinity Ward game studio". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  21. ^ Christopher Grant (21 December 2010). "Activision claims EA and former IW execs schemed to 'inflict serious harm on the company'". Joystiq. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  22. ^ Laura A. Seigle (21 December 2010). "Declaration of Laura A. Seigle in support of Activision's motion for leave to amend cross-complaint". Superior Court of the State of California. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  23. ^ Conditt, Jessica. "Infinity Ward's Day in Court: May 7, 2012". Joystiq. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  24. ^ Pham, Alex (2010-04-12). "Jason West and Vincent Zampella's new call of duty". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ Grant, Christopher (2010-04-12). "Respawn Entertainment announced by ex-IW heads, partnering with EA". Joystiq. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  26. ^ Reilly, Jim (2010-04-12). "Infinity Ward Founders Developing A 'Big Blockbuster'". IGN. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  27. ^ "Who Remains at Infinity Ward?". cynicalsmirk.com. 2010-05-25. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  28. ^ http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-11264-Call-of-Duty-s-Creative-Strategist--Robert-Bowling-Exits-Infinity-Ward.html
  29. ^ http://www.callofdutymappacks.com/news/robert-bowling-on-classic-maps-for-mw3-keep-classic-maps-outside-of-the-dlc-model/
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