Surprise surprise! Thecontroversial and sudden firingof Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella have ended, as such things often do, in a lawsuit. Having been let go just weeks before Activision was due to give them a hefty royalty payment, West and Zampella claim that Activision breached its contract and then “seized control of the Infinity Ward studio.”
“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,” alleges the pair’s lawyer. “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.”
West adds: “We were shocked by Activision’s decision to terminate our contract. 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 simply said, “We shouldn’t have to sue to get paid.”
