Dante Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 Finance.yahoo.com = Today, Jason West and Vince Zampella, creators of the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty® franchise, announced the formation of a new development studio -- Respawn Entertainment. The move positions the Respawn Entertainment leadership team as the owners of the intellectual property they create. The company will focus on creating state-of-the-art gaming experiences for global audiences. The studio is currently assembling a world-class team of designers, artists and engineers. Applicants can submit resumes to [email protected]. Respawn is pleased to also announce that it has awarded Electronic Arts, through the distinguished EA Partners program, exclusive worldwide publishing and distribution rights to future games. Terms were not disclosed. West and Zampella are represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA). “Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me,†said Vince Zampella, General Manager of Respawn Entertainment. “For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We’re very proud of what we built – and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again -- open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA.†“We’re excited,†added Jason West, President of Respawn Entertainment. "Now that the team is in control of the games and brands, we can ensure that the fans are treated as well as they deserve." Frank Gibeau, President of the EA Games Label commented, “This is the start of a great publishing partnership – one that I expect will develop blockbuster game franchises. Jason and Vince are two of the top creative leaders in the entertainment industry. At EA, we’re honored to be their partners and to give them the support they need to hire a team and return to making incredible games.â€
dwarf Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 I guess that's a fairly apt name. I think they'll end up making a sci-fi multiplayer game akin, but very different, to Halo.
tapedeck Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 (edited) FINALLY. Justice!!!! Maybe gaming journalists will now go back to being something other than an update service on two guys losing their jobs. The media's love affair for CoD knows no bounds. I'm pr0 Activision in all of this. Hey, someone's gotta root for the bad guys, and to think that EA were evil not so long ago...I just don't know who to love anymore! Thanks for the update though Dante. I'll actually sleep easier tonight knowing that two men out of a plethora of talent were snapped up by the jaws of EA. I've barely recovered from the masses of lay off's in far superior companies over the years. :wink: Edited April 12, 2010 by tapedeck Did an Activision and deleted one menial word in a whole sentence.
Emasher Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 I was quite glad hearing this. I predict half of Infinity Ward walks out and gets hired by Respawn, while Activision realize they have very little talent left working for them, and either replace Bobby Kotick (SP?) or Activision just dies.
Choze Posted April 17, 2010 Posted April 17, 2010 Thanks for the update though Dante. I'll actually sleep easier tonight knowing that two men out of a plethora of talent were snapped up by the jaws of EA. I've barely recovered from the masses of lay off's in far superior companies over the years. :wink: The studio is independent, EA have nothing to do with it besides publish games. Dont forget The same thing happened to EA in the first place with the same people. Ea are not any better. Hopefully this stuff forces developers to think twice about being snapped up by larger companies with awful track records.
Emasher Posted April 17, 2010 Posted April 17, 2010 EA used to not be any better. The management at EA has had some significant changes over the last few years. Its a much better company now.
Choze Posted April 18, 2010 Posted April 18, 2010 EA used to not be any better. The management at EA has had some significant changes over the last few years. Its a much better company now. True. I hope they handle BF ok. BC isnt exactly the quality peak of the series but its the most popular and still a great game.
Dante Posted April 27, 2010 Author Posted April 27, 2010 (edited) LATIMES = Activision's Call of Duty-related headaches just leveled up. More than three dozen former and current employees of Infinity Ward, the Encino-based development studio that made the hugely successful Call of Duty: Modern Warfare video games for Activision Blizzard Inc., have sued the publisher claiming that they are owed between $75 million and $125 million in unpaid royalties and potentially more in compensatory damages. The move by the 38 current and former staffers comes a little over a month after former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired by Activision and filed their own $36-million lawsuit against the Santa Monica-based publisher over allegedly unpaid royalties. Two weeks ago, West and Zampella formed a new development studio called Respawn Entertainment and signed a deal with Activision's chief rival, Electronic Arts, Inc. Since West and Zampella left Infinity Ward, a number of other employees have left the studio, some of whom have joined Respawn. Of the 38 employees involved in the lawsuit, 21 are former employees of Infinity Ward; 17 still work there. Approximately 95 people worked at Infinity Ward on last November's Modern Warfare 2, meaning that about 40% of its employees at that time are now suing Activision. The ongoing dispute puts the future of the Call of Duty franchise, one of the pillars of Activision's success, in doubt. Modern Warfare 2 was the most successful video game of 2009 in the U.S. It sold about 20 million units around the world and generated an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue. The lawsuit says that Activision owes Infinity Ward employees a bonus pool of at least $118 million, of which $82 million is supposed to go to employees other than West and Zampella. It alleges that the publisher has withheld royalty payments in order to keep them from leaving as their former bosses did, putting at risk the potentially hugely lucrative release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 planned for late 2011. "Activision engaged in this inappropriate course of conduct in an attempt to force employees of Infinity Ward to continue to work at a job that many of them did not want just so Activision could force them to complete the development, production and delivery of Modern Warfare 3," the suit says. It goes on to allege that Activision representatives told Infinity Ward employees that if West and Zampella had not been fired, the employees would have received bonuses approximately 2.5 times higher than what they were paid on March 26. "Activision believes the action is without merit," a company spokesman said in response to the suit. "Activision retains the discretion to determine the amount and the schedule of bonus payments for [Modern Warfare 2] and has acted consistent with its rights and the law at all times. We look forward to getting judicial confirmation that our position is right." [updated at 2:35 p.m. with Activision response.] The complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court in Santa Monica is based in part on the same allegations contained in West and Zampella's suit. The plaintiffs' attorney has asked that the two cases be consolidated. More details: Unpaid bonuses from 2009 and 2010 sales generated by Modern Warfare 2 -- fourth quarter 2009 and first quarter 2010, specifically. Bonuses "due and owing to them" past first quarter 2010. "Bonus/royalty/profit participation" related to "technology/engine" royalties, "other special performance bonuses," "other studio bonuses" or "any other bonus/royalty/profit participation."' Lost value on "restricted stock units" that Activision "promised" would vest (read: own it in your own name and purchase it from Activision) when Modern Warfare 2 sales eclipsed Modern Warfare 1, which "has long ago occurred." Money owed as it relates to Modern Warfare 2 "sister games, including but not limited to" the oft-mentioned Modern Warfare 3, "if Modern Warfare 3 is ultimately delivered and marketed." Interest rates related to the above sums of money. The IWEG ("Infinity Ward Employee Group") also believes Activision violated California Labor Code during their alleged failure of payment. "Activision has a duty to pay all of the members of the IWEG all of the money they are owed [...] within 72 hours of the termination of their employment," reads the lawsuit. "Activision, however, has failed to do so." The full list of plantiffs mentioned in the suit (not all of them have left Infinity Ward): Todd Alderman, Frank Gigliotti, Roger Abrahamsson, Brad Allen, Mohammad Alavi, Richard Baker, Chad Barb, Keith Bell, Chris Cherubini, Taihoon William Cho, Chris Dionne, Joel Emslie, Robert Field, Steve Fuduka, Robert Gaines, Chance Glasco, Preston Glenn, Joel Gompert, Chad Grenier, Mark Grigsby, John Haggerty, Jacob Michael Keating, Chris Lambert, Ryan Lastimosa, Fairfax S. McCandlish IV, Jason McCord, Brent Mcleod, John Paul Messerly, Stephen Miller, Zied Rieke, Jon Shiring, John Slayback, Richard Smith, Geoffery Smith, Jiesang Song, Todd Sue, Rayme C. Vinson and Lei Yang. All are represented by Wyman & Isaacs LLP located in Los Angeles. Edited April 27, 2010 by Dante
Dyson Posted April 27, 2010 Posted April 27, 2010 (edited) I guess this couldn't have gone in the threads we already have for this topic? Edited April 27, 2010 by Dyson
Mundi Posted April 27, 2010 Posted April 27, 2010 They should make a game about this. In the style of Phoenix Wright.
McPhee Posted April 28, 2010 Posted April 28, 2010 Some sites are now reporting that Activision will close Infinity Ward down after the second MW2 map pack is done. As many of a quarter of Infinity Ward's staff have walked out over the past month and it's no longer viable to keep the studio running. Modern Warfare 3 development will be split between two other studios.
flameboy Posted April 28, 2010 Posted April 28, 2010 Some sites are now reporting that Activision will close Infinity Ward down after the second MW2 map pack is done. As many of a quarter of Infinity Ward's staff have walked out over the past month and it's no longer viable to keep the studio running. Modern Warfare 3 development will be split between two other studios. Yeah apparently it is completely and utterly based on an analysts predictions. But it doesn't take too big a leap of faith to sumise that such a move totally makes sense for Activision to make this move at this point.
Dante Posted July 10, 2010 Author Posted July 10, 2010 New details on Activision/Infinity Ward Lawsuit - Trial on Aug 5 Guarded doors, secret interrogations and broken promises are just the latest allegations laid out in the ongoing saga about the break-up between the world's largest game publisher and the people in charge of creating Modern Warfare 2. Activision created a "police state," conducted secret "interrogations" of employees and held $54 million dollars hostage as they tried to threaten and cajole the team behind Modern Warfare 2 into making the next Modern Warfare game, according to an amended lawsuit filed in California today and obtained by Kotaku. A group of nearly 40 past and present Infinity Ward developers banded together in April to file suit against the publishers of Modern Warfare 2 for half a billion dollars, alleging breach of contract and unpaid royalties. An addendum to the suit filed today lays out what the former employees say happened to the bonus and royalties they were expecting. It also lowered what the group is asking from at most $216 million in punitive damages and unpaid bonuses, down from half a billion. In March, according to the suit, Activision paid 40 percent of the Modern Warfare 2 bonus money to the team, but withheld the rest, demanding that Infinity Ward develop, produce, complete and publish Modern Warfare 3 by November 2011 to get the rest of the money. The suit alleges that during the build up that led to the firing of West and Zampella, Activision forced Infinity Ward employees to submit to secret interrogations and told the employees not to tell anyone about them. The publisher also brought in security personnel to man the office exits, according to the suit. Later that month, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick attending a meeting with Infinity Ward, promising them that they would receive their full bonus at the end of the month, but that never happened, according to the suit. When a group of employees met with CFO Thomas Tippl in April to demand the bonus, according to the suit, Tippl responded "Get over it." The suit says that had Activision not fired West and Zampella, withheld the bonus, created a hostile work place, not created a "police state-like atmosphere" they would have stayed on with the publisher. A separate suit was filed by former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella in March, seeking $36 million unpaid royalties and alleging an "Orwellian," "pre-ordained" investigation designed to "manufacture a basis to fire" the studio founders. There will be a hearing in front of a judge on Aug. 5 to see the trials of both suits against Activision will be consolidated into one trial. A trial date was set for May 23, two weeks before next year's E3 is set to get underway. Activision has been contacted for comment. We will update the story with comment when they provide one.
Dan_Dare Posted July 10, 2010 Posted July 10, 2010 Jesus- Activision really should just give up any pretence and start twirling their mustache's over maidens strapped to train tracks.
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