Infinity Ward leaves Activision
News | March 4, 2010 8:04 am
In sad news today, Infinity Ward, creators of such games as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was dropped from the Activision label. There's no news on how this is going to effect Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 since Infinity Ward owns the copyright to the Modern Warfare franchise. The complete story is as follows:
This could be a dark day in gaming history. Activision already plans three, yes three different versions of Call of Duty's this year alone, one of them being a Multiplayer based MMO for Asian regions only. I just hope we get the Map Packs IW promised us. Though the way the future shows us, a huge chance Microsoft will pick up this Independent Game Studio and add their name to the Legacy of Studios such as Bungie, 343 Industries, and Lionhead Studios.
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Quote by Wikipedia:
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. 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.
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. It is speculated that this may have resulted in the firings.
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, but Activision have explained that Infinity Ward are still "central" to the future of the Call of Duty franchise. Activision has created a new studio, Sledgehammer Games, to create an "action-adventure" installment of the Call of Duty franchise. As of Mar. 3, 2010, Activision maintains that Infinity Ward is still the central pillar of their Call of Duty franchise and this new studio is merely an extension of the franchise. It is unsure whether Infinity Ward will still run, or if the existing members will join Sledgehammer Games.
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. It is speculated that this may have resulted in the firings.
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, but Activision have explained that Infinity Ward are still "central" to the future of the Call of Duty franchise. Activision has created a new studio, Sledgehammer Games, to create an "action-adventure" installment of the Call of Duty franchise. As of Mar. 3, 2010, Activision maintains that Infinity Ward is still the central pillar of their Call of Duty franchise and this new studio is merely an extension of the franchise. It is unsure whether Infinity Ward will still run, or if the existing members will join Sledgehammer Games.
This could be a dark day in gaming history. Activision already plans three, yes three different versions of Call of Duty's this year alone, one of them being a Multiplayer based MMO for Asian regions only. I just hope we get the Map Packs IW promised us. Though the way the future shows us, a huge chance Microsoft will pick up this Independent Game Studio and add their name to the Legacy of Studios such as Bungie, 343 Industries, and Lionhead Studios.
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