The long and miserable battle between Activision and the tag team of Jason West and Vince Zampella continues, with the former Infinity Ward heads adding fraud to the list of charges. According to the two men, Activision promised more autonomy, and never delivered.
The publisher is accused of entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with West and Zampella, promising them more freedom over the Modern Warfare brand in exchange for three more years of employment. According to the charge, however, Activision had no intention of honoring the agreement, and secretly worked on Call of Duty projects without consulting Infinity Ward.
“Activision did not inform West or Zampella of such plans or seek their input or approval for them,” the complaint said. “Indeed, while breaching the creative authority provisions of the MOU, Activision continued to pay lip-service to them, in an attempt to mask its secret development efforts.”
In addition to damages, West and Zampella seek a recession of the MOU, which would give them partial control over the Modern Warfare brand. This would mean that they’d be able to make brand new Modern Warfare games and re-release old ones. A significant coup for their new master, Electronic Arts.
In other news, I had a dream last night about Bobby Kotick doing Paul Bearer impersonations.
Former Infinity Ward Heads Add Fraud to Activision Lawsuit Charges [The Escapist]
