The ongoing legal battle between Activision and the two former executives responsible for developing the Call of Duty franchise has heated up even further. In court papers filed this past Tuesday, Activision is seeking to include EA as a defendant in its case against Jason West and Vincent Zampella over accusations surrounding their departure in March to setup an independent game company.
As reported on AWN this past April [1], West and Zampella sued Activision, claiming they were fired in order to avoid payment of millions of dollars in royalties due them from the previous November release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which generated more than $1.3 billion in revenue. Activision countersued, claiming the two were fired because they were purposely slowing development of their next title while secretly planning to start their own studio. Upon leaving Activision, the two started Respawn Entertainment, which immediately signed an exclusive distribution deal with Electronic Arts.
In Tuesday’s filings, Activision claims EA actively urged West and Zampella to meet with them, enlisting the help of intermediaries, while the two were still under contract. In the filing, Activision claims “As a result, Activision has suffered damages measured not in millions, but in hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Links:
[1] http://www.awn.com/news/business/west-and-zampella-sued-activision-jump-ea