Future Modern Warfare Releases Could Be Vetoed By West and Zampella

131
Richard Walker

More from the Activision vs Infinity Ward debacle as sacked ex-IW studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West could retain the power to veto any future Modern Warfare releases, which could possibly affect DLC as well as the games themselves, according to Jas Purewal, associate at legal firm Olswang LLP (via GamesIndustry.biz).

Activision is also searching for internal documents - perhaps to serve as evidence - to support their allegations of "insubordination" and - get this - "Documents regarding West and Zampella's communications with Activision's competitors, including but not limited to Electronic Arts".

Could it have been that the ex-Infinity Ward duo were in communication with EA? That's what this seems to suggest and could be part of the reason Activision decided to let the pair go.

Activision meanwhile have issued their first public statement regarding the lawsuit launched by West and Zampella following their dismissal:

"Activision is disappointed that Mr. Zampella and Mr. West have chosen to file a lawsuit, and believes their claims are meritless," said an Acti spokesperson.

Aw. Poor 'ikkle Activision. They're all disappointed! After sacking two employees before paying them due royalties. Poor Activision.

This is all turning into a big, legal mess for both parties it seems, with the ex-Infinity Ward duo seeking control over the Modern Warfare brand and Activision maintaining that they've "done nothing wrong and intends to vigorously defend any claims asserted by West and Zampella" according to an internal memo doing the rounds before the lawsuit was filed.

[Via G4TV]

Comments
131
  • Holy courtroom drama, Batman.
  • God, I hope they rip Modern Warfare from the hands of Activision. Wouldn't that be sweet?
  • I hope those guys stick it to activision.
  • I dislike the Modern Warfare franchise, but I would love for Zampella and West to stick it to Activision. Activision is the definition of a classless company nowadays.
  • Ha ha half the gaming world is gonna be hoping Activision gets screwed over. Me included.
  • It would be sweet #2 but that would mean no modern warfare 3 (i would imagine) plus. activision own infinity ward so!
  • Didnt they work for EA before starting infinity ward? I think they were in charge of the medal of honor series then left to start COD so EA should of sued activision for stealing there ideas
  • Well if they was talking to other employers they deserve getting fired, fuck em and fuck CoD.
  • Noo, I want my DLC!! Sooner rather then never!!
  • if they really have that kind of leverage over activision, they'll just pay them a fuckton of money and things will progress as per usual. it certainly would be interesting if the pending dlc release for MW2 was affected, though.
  • Good, I hope that West and Zampella completely stick it to Activision and our good friend Bobby Kotick. Activision seems to have pulled a complete dickwad move on them, and deserve the repercussions. (note: I'm not a fan of CoD, so I have no personal stake in it)
  • @#1 Haha.
  • Hate to say it but they'll probably lose. If Activision really has proof of Infinity Ward meeting with EA, that'll be enough to win this...
  • @#7 you are right, they did work for EA before creating Infinity Ward, but EA has no rights on WWII games, so they couldn't sue. But that's going off subject anyway, I wouldn't be suprised if Zampella and West helped to create the new Medal of Honor thats slated to come out this year. If they decide to go back to EA, that would be very profitable for the company.
  • I don't hope that Activision gets screwed over. Zampella and West deserve what they get IF, and only if, Activision's allegations are true.
  • Seems very strange, who owns CoD, Activision I guess. #8 CoD may not be my favourite game but MW2 is the most popular game ever? You sound very jealous...
  • This is turning into quite the drama! How long before someone ends up dead and they make a CSI out of the story?
  • Hopefully, Call of Duty will be better now that they try something new with it...
  • This will end up in all of xbox live being punished somehow. That's how it feels anyway...
  • Fine by me. As long as Ea doesnt dump Dice....... ill be on BFBC 2 for all my shooting MP needs.
  • they have no chance in beating Activision. They are a multimillion doller industry. Its like sueing Xbox because its a bad console...YOU"LL NEVER WIN
  • @2 I would love for that to happen, Activision seem to think they rule the world due to the Call of Duty Franchise, but man the action is heating up between them.
  • Honestly, whether you like Activision or not, if they were really in talks with EA and Activision can prove that, they have no grounds for lawsuit. That's a big breach of contract.
  • WOW! I never knew you could get fired for talking to a possible new boss...I would be so screwed. Anyway, does Actvision own Infinty Wards? I'm just waiting for Actvision to be screwed hard by the courts.
  • That would be hilarious if they vetoed all DLC for MW2 just to show those DLC whores they have nothing without them
  • I hope wherever they go, they take the entire IW team with them & start a new studio under a better company & stick it to Activision. Because Call of Duty will never be the same after this. Hopefully Treyarch will see just how evil Activision is and leave too.
  • Veto dude, veto!! But seriously Activision should be licking IW's boots for making so much money off MW 2 not firing it's owners ;/ idiots ...
  • What the hell did they get fired for anyway? Lol.
  • IW should be shaking, the new Medal of Honor game looks stunning, Call Of Duty has serious competition on the horizon. I hope EA improve on the last MOH games though.
  • wow, this is getting intense. the odds r on activision winning tho which is a shame
  • If DLC get delayed....
  • No!! In Modern Warfare games it's known as Vote to Skip, not veto.
  • Where's Harvey birdman when u need him?
  • anyone who watches this video, you have to agree this is what they should do to activision http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoXfiSU_wqE XD
  • It seems like Vince Zampella and Jason West own the rights to Modern Warfare or at least entitled the rights to develop but it wouldn't surprise me if Activision owns the right to produce. More then likely this is going end up killing the Modern Warfare series, as if Zampella and West win, Activsion probably won't produce the games just to be dicks.
  • .... i really want the dlc lol
  • its too bad Red Octane didnt or couldn't do this to the *Hero franchise when Craptivision shut them down.
  • great...and while the legal crap ensues we don't get any DLC. Reminds me of the legal crap the killed any chance of 'The Hobbit' being made into a decent movie.
  • I have a horrible feeling that the court will find that the Modern Warfare franchise is a part of the Call of Duty franchise and so would be owned by Activision. I want to see the Modern Warfare story continue, especially after the cliffhanger of MW2, and I'd so love to see Activision get what's coming to them, but... I dunno. My law student senses are tingling, and I hate it when they do that. It's never a good sign. D=
  • @5 Only half? I think that's if Acti is lucky. And good for those guys. Regardless of the circumstances, (to me it sounds like more like talks to move companies, basically like a sports trade than 'insubordination') those guys deserve to get something out of this. And pulling the MW name out of Acti's hands, would be sweet, sweet justice~
  • If they stick it to Activision i would laugh my ass off :)
  • So Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will take place in a civil courtroom? Not the sequel I was anticipating!
  • For crimes against the Call of Duty franchise, Activision should lose control over it, but this is interesting
  • Recap: Activision fires West and Zampella for breaches of contract and insubordination. West and Zampella file lawsuit against Activision on the grounds that royaltys have yet to be paid. Activision's response includes note of possible investigation into acts of insubordination and meetings with Electronic Arts, and possibly other competitors. As it stands, if Activision is able to find evidence to prove their allegations, West and Zampella are screwed, right?
  • I thought IW had only signed a contract to work with Activision (could have sworn I read that somewhere). I think I remember reading something about IW's contract with Activision was up this October-ish and that it was one of the reasons why they wouldn't be working on the future COD games that Activision was doing. I guess it comes down to who owns the rights to COD/MW. If that's true (or not), after a move like this wouldnt you have to worry if you were Activision that other people in IW would leave as well to follow Zampella and West. Seems like a no-win siutation for Activision. If you lose you pay them heep loads of cash, but if you win you might tick off the other employees of IW and they might jump ship anyway.
  • Activision are lame and if the ex-emplyees decide to not let Acti release MW2 DLC so are they. I can understand future titles but screwing with a released game. Not cool.
  • @44: If Activision has proof they met with a competitor, then they are SOL. If they don't have anything on them, then I can probably see the IW Duo winning this lawsuit. However, royalties owed should be payed nonetheless.
  • actually, Activision would not only have to have it in the contract that they don't contact other companies, but they may have to deal with legal issues about Non-compete and similar clauses in contracts which may or may not actually be legally binding. I know that in my field (software development), we're told to avoid signing non-competes, but even if we do that they may not be legally binding in the first place. Of course, I don't think most of us have any idea what was in the contract between West & Zampella and Activision, or between Infinity Ward and Activision. W&Z may in fact actually have a pretty good case here. The only way I could see them losing for sure, is if they gave EA copyrighted material, and EA actually used it without permission.
  • Great journalism! no bias here at all
  • I love how everybody is defending these two because they're from IW and made the MW juggernaut, let's be honest, nobody would give a fuck about this story if it wasn't Infinity Ward, but since it is and they made MW everybody is defending them and telling Activision to go fuck themselves whenever both parties are most likely lying and not one of us has any idea wtf is going on. "hurr fuk actvison iw mak best cod games herp derp" Stop looking at the case from a fanboy perspective and stop saying Activision is evil whenever you wouldn't give a fuck if it was somebody who wasn't IW.
  • Best news EVER!!!!!!!
  • lol selling this game tmr for bfbc2 ... may as well while i get a decent price for it... wonder how long it will be b4 shops are full of mw2 used games
  • It's simple... We kill Activision! I love gaming legal battles, like Bethesda/Interplay. I want Activision to lose, they have enough franchises as it is.
  • This sounds like a fun argument.. KICK ACTIVISIONS ASS! YEAH!
  • @1 you have skillz of legends, use your powers of comedy well
  • #49 is spot on. I'm really getting tired of Richard Walker's terrible journalism. Webb, have a word will you?
  • Im starting to think that West and Zampella were fired because they started up some serious confrontation in front of the Activision execs when the suits brought up the idea/plan to whore out the COD and MW franchise. Activision probably wanted to ring it dry and over-saturate the market with 2-3 COD games a year, similar to how they killed the Guitar Hero franchise. I think Activision needs to be taught a lesson in restraint.
  • Eh, I really hope, like others have said, that Acti gets fucked over here. They did a similiar thing a while back with the Guitar Hero franchise. They bought the rights off of Harmonix after GH2, and started to whore the shit out of the game, barely improving on anything. Harmonix turned around and made, IMO, a much better quality game, Rock Band. (Please, let's not start that GH vs RB fanboyish argument) If Zampella and West can't win the rights to the MW genre, they really should just turn around and make a bigger and better game. Everyone knows MW3 is going to suck without those two developing it.
  • @49 @56 who said this is supposed to be a bias-free journalistic site? Of course there is bias, in every post they make (especially the UKcentric shit). Some of it is good, some of it is bad, but in the end, who cares? they have the right to opine however they feel like, and at least from what I've seen, have never once pretended to be a hard news site.
  • Lol at the bit about MW3 taking place in a courtroom. Nikolai: "Soap and Price plead not guilty, your honor" Price: *mumbles* "Bloody wanker" Soap: "Eaaaasy, old man"
  • Good on them I hope it all goes well and they get their money and their rights so we dont have a Call Of Duty Hero
  • Good, no more Camp of Duty games. BFBC2 is more fun to me anyway.
  • New angle! Future Warfare =D Off topic- if you haven't already got BFBC2 you don't know what you're missing
  • 32 and 1 - :')
  • Its playground antics. I dont care what happens, activision dont makegood games anyway. Bfbc2 will own them. Multiplayer gaming is going to the dogs tbh, mw2 was fail compared to cod4 and most other games are getting worse. Can i get a rewind to 2008 please?
  • Activison. The most hated company out there eh? Pissed myself reading this.
  • @ #59 I know it's not a "serious business" news site. But these kind of articles kill the credibility of the site. I'm all for humour, but sarcasm? that's the lowest form of wit, and it's not the first time I have seen it in Walker's writing. Report the news, and leave the gags and sarcasm to the community.
  • I dunno, there is almost no information about the true reason for them loosing their jobs. But, fact is they got sacked, and you need to do something wrong to get sacked.
  • Well, I am with them with West and Zampella. honestly for all I care modern warfare 3 can be a Chinese Democracy for me. All I want is for them to stick it to Activision's pompous ass.
  • I want some new maps dammit.
  • Lost interest in MW2 after they gave half of a single player campaign and let the hackers /glitchers run the game for over 3 months. Traded this in and got Battlefield Bad Company 2 and haven't looked back. BFBC2 is 10x better then Modern WarFAIL 2.
  • @67 u bastard, sarcasm is an art form, good sarcasm is the highest form of wit!!!! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!!!
  • i hope they veto the lot lol
  • i hope IW wins i callled activsion and asked of they could replace my game (it wont play) and they said HANG UP so i took it to gamestop and traded it in got 40$
  • @45 activision unfortunately owns 100% of IW, so there would be no contract involved (i assume, im no lawyer) and any property created by IW is owned by activision as the owner and publisher of/for the company. @65 unless I'm missing the context, activision don't make mw2, they just publish it. and from further press releases, it sounds like activision want to turn call of duty into a guitar hero style cash cow, where they may release two new games every year (although one rumoured to be an action/adventure style). maybe thats what turned zampella and west and what looks like, rather than talk to them, they sent some ActiGoons over to deal with them.
  • Can people not just stick to making great games or has it all got to be about the god damn money. I seriously hope Activision get torn apart from this so there money grabbing ways will stop.
  • I hope Activision get what's coming to them. I hate them with a passion, they practically ruin every franchise they get hold of.
  • Activision are so annoying, hope they lose.
  • activision would sink without this money tank.... KILL EM ZAMPALA AND WEST, KILL THE HELL OUT OF THEM!!!!!
  • I agree with #20. I always rather have the battlefield series. PS Bad Company 2 is fantastic!
  • I hope that infinity ward can leave activision sell the rights to the cod name to the activision jerks, just keep the modern warfare title. Look at bungie they left microsoft and they are still going strong. Go Halo, Bungie, Modern Warfare, and Infinity Ward!!!
  • never did like mw2 so the whole dlc, i could care less, and i heard a rumor that its just going to be old maps from cod 4. not very orignial anyways...!
  • @6 Who the hell cares if they make a MW3?! What, it'll be just like MW2-a complete glitch fest, campers haven, nuke boosting, lag fest! Why in the hell do ppl wanna play that garbage? CoD4.....loved the hell outta it. CoD WaW.....alright but still played it to death. BF:BC2 I've been playing non-stop.....guess what?!?! NO LAG NO GLITCHING NO BOOSTING!!! Pure utter enjoyment. I hope the CoD franchise goes belly up. Overplayed, overdone, and over-f**king rated!!!
  • Power to 'em, it's about time CoD gives it a rest and goes away for a LONG time!!!!!
  • @83 I mostly agree with you BFBC2 is awesome like you said no lag, no glitching/boosting plus the spawn points are perfect unlike *coughs*MW2
  • @79 MW isnt even Activisions money maker lol. World of Warcraft beats the hell out of MW money making wise.
  • @83 Of course, how dare anyone hope for a new game in a series they enjoy! Obviously there's no point at all since everyone on the planet shares your exact same thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and opinions! We're a hive mind! Ignorant jackass.
  • @87. Lol. Hypocritical much? You're flaming him for flaming people like you that don't agree with him. It's the comment section, he's entitled to his opinion as much as you are. It doesn't make him ignorant.
  • Why does everybody seem to dislike infinity ward? They released one game that wasn't tested properly and now everyone is butt hurt about it. They still make good games.
  • if EA some how gets Modern warfare i wont be buy that type of game any more i hate EA last thing i want is EA geting a great game then shuting down the online............
  • hmmm.... Has anyone actually considered that maybe the ex-infinity ward heads did in fact break the terms of their legal binding contract with Activision to go deal with EA and others? if so... i say... should have been less careless/wreckless boys. Oh and that West & Zampella are retarded sellouts if they were actually in talks with EA who would further destroy the MW brand.
  • Granted I only read a handful of the comments, but I am thinking that #91 is one of the few people one here with some sense.
  • @85 @83 are they boosting for kills and wins? thats the kind of boosting i hate the kind i like is Achievement boosting if you guys dont like that then this is not the correct site to be on.... just saying sice this is a boosting site......
  • KARMA IS A FUCKING BITCH AIN IT ACTIVISION? AINT IT???
  • Activision deserve any shit they get.
  • activisions horrible, i think everyone hates them
  • good.. im actually GLAD activision fired them.. now they just need to get rid of the rest of iw.. so they can make a new mw3 game.. and it would be the shit if they could atleast get the name 'Modern Warfare' to smack on the game box, i know they wont get call of duty but that name is about to be fucked after treyarch puts out vietnam anyway, and i dont hate activision, i just dont want call of duty turning into a third person action game like ive read
  • when are we gonna get a modern warfare music pack for dlc....
  • GO IW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Thats not cool. I wanted to rate the next COD game 6 months before it comes out. What? Everyone else does it.
  • if you hate Activision so much dont buy thare games....if your going to bitch then dont buy thare games half of you guys mostlikey have no clue what really going on i bet both sides of this BS are lieing about something just wait and we will find out in time other wise dont bitch and read and enjoy thare game when you still can if this turns out to be te last Warfare game.
  • Its all about greed, Activison doesnt need to kick out some great people from their company.It look likes the WOW profits made them extrememly greedy.
  • The question is... Would all of this happened if they were not sacked? Surely if they breached their contract then any royalties should not be paid. Totally behind Activision on this.
  • Take Activison down! TEAM INFINITY WARD! I really hope they get the Modern Warfare brand. Alot of people are saying that they want IW to go down and not get the brand.....lets face it, Modern Warfare in the hands of someone else would be lame. That team has already done 2 of them, worked for years together on them, know what they want to do and where to go on the 3rd one too. It's all a matter of opinions but Modern Warfare 2 was not that bad of a game, sure it hasan't been in my disc drive for weeks, dosent mean anything. I did like the single story campagin even though it was short, I really want to know what happends in the 3rd one dammit. So Activision, go F*** Yourself.
  • i love the BF series as much as anyone, but whoever says BFBC2 will own COD is high on crack! there was just over 350000 people that played the game online after 1 year of sales, compared to the millions on COD from day 1. there is no comparason in sales or online players. still heres hoping bf gets at least half a mill on the leaderboards this time.
  • I love how people are willing to pay up for a bunch of rehashed COD 4 maps.
  • Can't stand CoD, but i hope West and Zampella win their lawsuit. Because whilst i dont like the CoD games, i utterly despise Bobby Kotick and what he's turned Activision Blizzard into. So anything that inconviences him in any way shape or form has the thumbs up from me.
  • what i want to know is why west and zampella got fired in the first place. what did they do to get kicked anyway?? Personally i dont really like MW2, traded it in yesterday, but i think it would be pretty cool if West and Zampella come out on top....as Activision....well...what can i say about them that hasnt been said already ha and from what i hear...i think i should pick up BFBC2?! haha
  • this is like parents fighting over the kid when they go through a divorce lmao.
  • #7 World War 2 was EA's idea?
  • they can't just nuke CoD, it makes to much money. they'll settle it out.
  • There goes the call of duty series. I was hoping for a Call of Duty/Borderlands FPS/RPG. But knowing activision it will be more like Call of Duty Hero. Or Call of Duty: Modern Pokemon. Oh well Battlefield BC2 is not far off.
  • Wow. This is like the rebirth of the 2Pac Biggie smalls rivalry. Way to ruin a great thing guys. Settle your beef and get back to developing one of the greatest video game franchises in the history of mankind.
  • Which side is actually more to blame? I'm a little lost regarding this tale.
  • a little of radar but as long as Treyarch stays away from cod franchise im good
  • Oh no, If CoD goes under, all of the crappy unskilled players will move to battlefield and ruin that game. Plese don't let this happen.
  • #115 at least Treyarch made a game ONLINE PLAYABLE not WITHOUT LOCAL SEARCH like MW2, full of glitch, everything can be modded there. Are you serious? THEY SOLD A GAME FOR €60+ THAT WASN'T EVEN COMPLETE. Still now the game online is full of problems (i'm not talking about gameplay, of course) of connections, HOST ISSUES and UNABLE TO FIND LOBBY WHILE PLAYING WITH FRIENDS. I pay monthly for a service that is broken in that game GOOD WORK IW. GREAT
  • @117 I occasionally find difficulty in keeping my party together when we play MW2, but the game is still fun. I can see where your point is valid however. They should have built in some kind of ping test to pick the best host, because plenty of times I've joined a game and it immediately switches hosts, is unbearably laggy, or just drops half the players. I really do hope these 2 guys slam Activision. They've been working with IW since COD1, and Activision saw COD as a big old dollar sign, obviously not caring about the franchise. You just have to look at COD3 and WAW for this... I'm sure IW wouldn't ever have made those games if they were still independent. Where is the need for a Treyarch "Call of Duty" inbetween years when IW makes one? It's just unnecessary
  • Am I the only one wondering how Acti are only NOW looking for evidence against the employees they fired? Surely they would have needed said evidence before they could legally sack anyone. If they just gave those two the boot over 'hearsay' and cannot produce anything to back that up - well they are in trouble.
  • As much as i want my DLC and more modern warfare games i want Activision to lose the rights.
  • @103 Regardless of whether West & Zampella breached their contract, earned bonuses and pay prior to the firing must be payed, at least by law in most countries. Are they entitled to any royalties, pay and bonuses after the day they were fired? We can't tell- that would depend on what their contract says (and even if they have "breached" that contract, doesn't mean Activision is off the hook for paying them their due specified by that contract). Fact is, as for their pay/bonuses/royalties- Activision is going to have a hard time getting out of that. The big question is whether or not West and Zampella actually have a some right to Modern Warfare or Call of Duty in their own names. That may make it very difficult for Activision in the future.
  • I was more entertained watching a playthrough of Heavy Rain than playing any instance of a Call of Duty game.
  • i hope the dlc dont get canceled LOL
  • That is probably the best news I have seen on here in a while LOL,
  • Id like to know where we as gamers stand with all this in respects to updates and ultimately DLC. I hope with all this crap going on they dont give us the finger and release nothing om MW2
  • We can only hope that the MW franchise will no longer cease to exist, and us be given a brand new FPS series that all the 14 year old boys can fap to like they did MW2.
  • @106 That's because Call of Duty 4 maps weren't made for campers and full of camping spots like MW2 ones. But I'm sure when they "rehash" them they'll probably add camping spots and make them gay :/
  • In other opinions around the world: BF:BC2 is a smash success!! I spent 20 hours (no joke!!) straight on it and still have a hankering for some more!
  • @ #4 you dislike? the modern warfare franchise lol there are only 2 games with that brand are you even sure what game you are playing? i doubt you have played this so called franchise enough to dislike it..your more than likely one of these kids who get on and suck online then complain afterwards about how bad the game is, it is not bad at all kid and im not even a fan im more of a halo fan but this game has me and so many other people hooked yet people are always gonna find a way to cry about it
  • I must be honest. In my opinion this is an extremely horrible article overall. Could really use some work. @#74 Yeah Activision did the right thing with you buddy. Sorry about your luck. @#79 Do you care really?! #87 Oxymoron 49-56-59-67
  • @116 Your totally right don't you COD fan boys come and wreck battlefield now. :@
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