Respawn Entertainment

[GullyFoyle]

Jason West and Vincent Zampella's new call of duty

The duo behind the popular video game franchise plan a new company -- Respawn Entertainment -- and a distribution linkup with Electronic Arts.

In the video game world, "respawn" means a character that was killed off has come back to life.

So when two of the top creative talents in the industry form a new independent company called Respawn Entertainment, they are sending an unmistakable message to colleagues, competitors and fans.

The pair, Jason West and Vincent Zampella, who played key roles in the development of the multibillion-dollar military shooter franchise Call of Duty, have been embroiled in a bitter dispute with their former employer, Activision Blizzard Inc., which fired them a month ago in a move that shook the industry with the force of a rocket-propelled grenade.

West and Zampella first responded by suing Activision for more than $36 million. On Monday, they are expected to make their next move with the announcement that they are forming a new game studio and hooking up with Activision's chief rival, Electronic Arts Inc., which will have exclusive distribution rights to their next creation. The pair disclosed their plans in interviews with The Times on Sunday.

The company is initially being funded with several million dollars in seed capital by EA, according to people familiar with the situation. In a typical publishing deal, developers are given money by a publisher up front that they can earn back from the game's sales revenue.

See the rest of the story at the link above.

 

[paperfist]

Wow that didn't take long. I guess there's some merit to Activision's counter suit after all...

'Respawn Entertainment, they are sending an unmistakable message to colleagues, competitors and fans'

lol where have I heard that before? The proof is in the pudding.

 

[crownjules]

Wow that didn't take long. I guess there's some merit to Activision's counter suit after all...

'Respawn Entertainment, they are sending an unmistakable message to colleagues, competitors and fans'

lol where have I heard that before? The proof is in the pudding.

What are the grounds for Activision's counter-suit? I wasn't aware they had taken that sort of action.

And who honestly didn't expect them to start a new development shop and use EA as their publisher?

 

[paperfist]

What are the grounds for Activision's counter-suit? I wasn't aware they had taken that sort of action.

And who honestly didn't expect them to start a new development shop and use EA as their publisher?

Oh I expected them to start their own studio, but not so soon. So 2015 puts out Medal of Honor for EA, then dissolves and goes to work for Activision churning out CoD and now they've dissolved and going back to EA under Respawn

BTW, I thought the counter suit was a joke because it sounded a bit childish, but after seeing the possible EA tie it makes a little more sense.

Counter suit:

http://www.actiontrip.com/rei/comments_news.phtml?id=041210_2

"When Infinity Ward team leads Jason West and Vince Zampella left their positions at the company, they filed a lawsuit against their former employers -- Activision -- claiming 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." Publisher Activision expressed is stance on the matter by saying these claims are meritless.

LA Times reports that Activision has taken matters further by filing a counter-suit against West and Zampella accusing them of creating "an unlawful pattern and practice of conduct that was designed to steal the [Infinity Ward] studio, which is one of Activision's most valuable assets -- at the expense of Activision and its shareholders and for their own personal financial gain."

But it seems there's more to it. Activision's suit also states that West and Zampella went "on a secret trip by private jet to Northern California, arranged by their Hollywood agent, to meet with the most senior executives of Activision's closest competitor."

Hm, EA perhaps? Meanwhile, West and Zampella's lawyer described the allegations in the publisher's latest counter-suit as "false and outrageous."

Oh God, this is getting more complicated by the minute and we're already getting into the game of the "he-said-she-said" variety."

 

[GullyFoyle]

To me, Acitivision's claims sound more ridiculous. How are these two guys going to "steal" Infinity Ward, like it's a TV set or something?

And how would it be within their power to sign a publishing deal with EA, when they are owned by Activision?

Face it, the worst they could do was leak Intellectual Property, and insider information. Or run the company in to the ground. Which would be a tough sell given the record for MW2.

 

[Childs]

They need to pick up Grant Collier.

 

[JoshGuru7]

To me, Acitivision's claims sound more ridiculous. How are these two guys going to "steal" Infinity Ward, like it's a TV set or something?

None of us know the truth but Activision's claims are perfectly plausible and this sort of thing happens frequently.

I know somebody who worked for several years on a product and then decided it was his more than it was the company's. He left and started a competing business using all the work (and code) he developed at the original company. There were lawsuits on both sides but they were eventually dropped because the original company couldn't adequately demonstrate what he had stolen.

In fact, the company I'm currently working for used to be part of a much larger company before it separated in a non-mutually beneficial manner.

 

[digitaldurandal]

Well, it does seem promising that this time they completely own the IP. I am curious what engine they will go with this time. Personally I think that CODMW2 is one of the better looking games for its performance, but is missing many of the state of the art technologies that can be found in other games.

What engine do you guys think they will go with? Or better yet, what engine would you like them to go with?

Personally I think there is a lot of promise in the Crysis engine, especially now that computers are at a state to run it well, unfortunately due to consolitis I think it will be skipped over.

 

[SR1729]

To me, Acitivision's claims sound more ridiculous. How are these two guys going to "steal" Infinity Ward, like it's a TV set or something?

By poaching developers.

And how would it be within their power to sign a publishing deal with EA, when they are owned by Activision?

By creating a new company and poaching developers.

Face it, the worst they could do was leak Intellectual Property, and insider information. Or run the company in to the ground.

No, the worst they could do is form a new company and poach developers, both of which are a clear breach of contract.


I was pretty irate when this all went down, but as the facts unravel, it seems the big evil company's termination of the duo and their (Activision's) subsequent counter suit both have merit. If the facts laid out in Activision's counter suit are even remotely true, West and Zampella screwed up BIG TIME. Sounds like egos took over common sense and contractual obligations.

 

[SR1729]

What engine do you guys think they will go with? Or better yet, what engine would you like them to go with?

Personally I think there is a lot of promise in the Crysis engine, especially now that computers are at a state to run it well, unfortunately due to consolitis I think it will be skipped over.

This is EXACTLY what's been on my mind!

I've always wanted to work on an IW/COD game and my experience is with the Unreal Engine, so my hopes are that they use that

 

[digitaldurandal]

This is EXACTLY what's been on my mind!

I've always wanted to work on an IW/COD game and my experience is with the Unreal Engine, so my hopes are that they use that

Unreal engine is nice but hopefully if they go with that then they will take the time to enable AA on both brands. I cannot stand the Unreal Engine games that have no AA for ATi.

 

[Chappie]

frostbite1.5!!! or frostbite 2.0 when it's ready for BF3..

 

[SR1729]

frostbite1.5!!! or frostbite 2.0 when it's ready for BF3..

GOD NO. The most crucial element in the engine of a multiplayer game is the netcode, and Frostbite's netcode is absolute shit.

 

[PingSpike]

I don't understand how poaching developers is even illegal in any shape or form. It seems like they are free to do what they like.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I don't understand how poaching developers is even illegal in any shape or form. It seems like they are free to do what they like.

Not if it's written into their contract that they're not allowed to work for a competitor within X years of leaving their current employer.

 

[PingSpike]

I thought non-compete clauses generally were of dubious legality and weren't particularly likely to hold up in court. It probably varies from state to state though.

 

[GullyFoyle]

Infinity Ward revolving door continues

Two more lead designers head for the exit

Sources tell us that the deep talent pool at Infinity Ward will be thinner with news that two lead designers have headed for the exit following the lead of others that have already left the studio.

Steve Fukuda and Zied Reike, who both were lead designers on Modern Warfare 2, are confirmed to have left Infinity Ward. Rieke had been a member of the Infinity War team since the beginning of Infinity Ward, while Fukuda joined the studio in 2002.

In addition, the latest whispers indicate that lead artist Chris Cherubini and programmer Rayme Vinson have either already left the studio or made their intentions known that will be departing.

None of the four most recent departures have announced that they will be joining West and Zampella at Respawn Entertainment, but it is sure starting to look like at least some of these guys are destined to work together again. The departures could present some serious problems for Activision, who is anxious to get Modern Warfare 3 out of pre-production and rolling. Our sources indicate that additional departures from Infinity Ward are likely and the revolving door is likely to continue.

Are they leaving because Zampella and West are luring them, or because they no longer wish to work for Bobby "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" Kotick?

 

[SR1729]

At this rate, it doesn't much matter what else happens at IW. Enough of the leads/execs have left that the remaining carcass hardly resembles the team that brought us COD4 and MW2.

If the charges levied in Activision's counter suit are accurate, you really can't blame them for doing what they did (after all, it was evident they were going to lose their studio heads and some talent anyway, so they might as well go on the offensive to try to take control).

It seems a bit obvious that West's and Zampella's egos were a bit "problematic" (as well as their disregard for keeping their word), but at the same time, Activision should have been treating their meal tickets with kid gloves. Perhaps West and Zampella are prima donnas, but they're prima donnas who have a long, proven track record of bringing money by the truckload to their publishers' doors. Activision's execs should have checked their own egos at the door and given their golden studio whatever the hell it wanted, all wrapped in a bow.

 

[Rakewell]

Infinity Ward revolving door continues



Are they leaving because Zampella and West are luring them, or because they no longer wish to work for Bobby "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" Kotick?

Probably both...

 

[paperfist]

At this rate, it doesn't much matter what else happens at IW. Enough of the leads/execs have left that the remaining carcass hardly resembles the team that brought us COD4 and MW2.

Thing is though all their replacements have to do is come up with a new story line, maps and viola: MW3 is born

I have a hard time understanding why EA wants 3 different military shooter IP's. Are we all going to buy BF3, MoH the reboot and whatever Respawn puts out?

 

[xCxStylex]

I don't know anything about the two IW exec's, so I can't speculate. I just wanted to say this.

Bobby Kotick is a #$@! !@#$!@#. He can go !$# himself.

 

[paperfist]

I don't know anything about the two IW exec's, so I can't speculate. I just wanted to say this.

Bobby Kotick is a #$@! !@#$!@#. He can go !$# himself.

I guess he is:

"Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who previously said "The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks that we brought into Activision 10 years ago was to take all the fun out making video games. I think we've definitely been able to instill in the culture the skepticism and pessimism and fear that you should have in an economy like we're in today."

lol a pretty good blow by blow read about the whole melt down:

http://ca.kotaku.com/5513694/the-mo...-activision-vs-infinity-ward?skyline=true&s=i

 

[BladeVenom]

Are they leaving because Zampella and West are luring them, or because they no longer wish to work for Bobby "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" Kotick?

Exactly, when Activision brags about treating their employees like shit, no one should be surprised that employees are quitting the first good chance they get.

 

[JTsyo]

PA's take on it
I not too interested in the drama. We'll see where it ends up and if any good games come out of it.

 

[mindcycle]

I just just hope they develop something other than a war based FPS game. Like we need anymore of those.. Wishful thinking, I know.