IW devs sue Activision

The already turbulent story of Activision and Infinity Ward has taken another bitter twist with confirmation that ousted IW bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella are to sue the publisher.

The pair claim that Activision terminated their employment just weeks before they were due to be paid ‘substantial royalty payments’ as part of their existing Modern Warfare 2 deal.

We were shocked by Activision’s decision to terminate our contract,” West stated.

We poured our heart and soul into that company, building not only a world class development studio, but assembling a team we’ve been proud to work with for nearly a decade. We think the work we’ve done speaks for itself.”

Zampella added: After all we have given to Activision, we shouldn’t have to sue to get paid.”

Specifically, the suit makes claims for ‘breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrong termination in violation of public policy, and declaratory relief’.

Activision has refused to honour the terms of its agreements and is intentionally flouting the fundamental public policy of this State (California) that employers must pay their employees what they have rightfully earned,” the pair’s attorney Robert Schwartz outlined.

Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual ‘investigation’ into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of ‘insubordination’ and ‘breach of fiduciary duty,’which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st.”