Former Infinity Ward heads seek to void original contract with Activision

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The complex and claim-ridden story of Activision and Infinity Ward won't get any legal clarification for some time still, but that doesn't stop former IW heads Jason West and Vince Zampella from trying to annul their original contract with Activision. According to a GameSpot report, an amended complaint filed by the duo late last week alleges that Activision began development of "Modern Warfare and Call of Duty games and related products" without the express consent of the two men, and seeks to void the original contract they signed with Activision -- a move that would put at least partial control over the Modern Warfare brand back in the hands of West and Zampella.

"Activision did not inform West or Zampella of such plans or seek their input or approval for them. Indeed, while breaching the creative authority provisions of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding], Activision continued to pay lip-service to them, in an attempt to mask its secret development efforts," the updated complaint reads. Furthermore, the aforementioned MOU was allegedly signed by West and Zampella with pressure from Vivendi's merger with Activision weighing on it, which West and Zampella say helped them land an agreement (detailed by the MOU) that kept them in control of the Modern Warfare brand.

The MOU, however, contained one passage that the ex-IW heads "remained skeptical" of, where the agreement would only continue as long as the two remained employed at the company. It's claimed that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick responded to this concern by saying, "Don't worry about it. It's impossible for you guys to get fired."

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/04/former-infinity-ward-heads-seek-to-void-original-contract-claim/#comments

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"Former Infinity Ward heads seek to void original contract with Activision" :: Login/Create an Account :: 8 comments

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shadow1Posted:

I honostly dont care about the new IW, the old one (Cod, Cod2, And Cod 4) was waaaay better. If they do go out of business, all IW servers will be shut down, and yes, even the old ones too. I hate mw2 so i cant wait to see it get shut down.

Mega_ModderPosted:

iamthebest lets see what happens hope they get the contract back because it was over something stupid


They sabotaged modern warfare 2, I highly doubt Activision is stupid enough to give them their jobs back. I just hope their a Call of Duty this year.

zombieguyPosted:

i say give them their jobs and beat the battlefield series again this year :D

xENTERxSHIKARIxPosted:

TTGNAPALMBATH Fighting over this will annoy me if it takes the lime light away from the game. I really don't care if Activision screw them douchebags over. As long as the game doesn't suffer.


But them 'douchebags' are the people who made the game good so without them the 'lime light' is gone

GalleryPosted:

Netflix I wish they would just Solve this dispute already! It's ridiculous now.
I was saying the same thing in my head.

OasisPosted:

Fighting over this will annoy me if it takes the lime light away from the game. I really don't care if Activision screw them douchebags over. As long as the game doesn't suffer.

NetflixPosted:

I wish they would just Solve this dispute already! It's ridiculous now.

ImmortalTechniquePosted:

lets see what happens hope they get the contract back because it was over something stupid