Infinity Ward heads ousted?

WolfForager

Oh noes! Activision's getting all rallied up... To me it looks like IW were getting pissed off with having other devs destroy their baby and Activision decided to take steps to squash these rebellious servants.



http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/02/rumor-activision-ousts-infinity-ward-higher-ups/

http://kotaku.com/5483427/activision-cites-infinity-ward-insubordination

http://kotaku.com/5483412/deja-vu--surrounds-infinity-ward-rumors

heebusjeebus

Seems to me like Activision would prefer a mercenary developer like Treyarch and not a "creative" group like Infinity Ward. The original group for IW left Electronic Arts back in the days of Medal of Honor.
I think they would be right to go and setup a new shop but this time (3rd time lucky) not get sucked up into one of the major publishers.

super_furry

Man, Activision have replaced EA as the horrible money obsessed overlords happy to piss off the public and pump out dross yearly updates. EA had to change their ways when people realised that they were being ripped off, Activision will end up the same.

sink

Robert Kotick is dragging Activision/Blizzard down by killing innovation. It's a bizarre business strategy that can only work short term. The games industry is the fastest evolving entertainment industry in the world, paradigm shifts happen every 5 years or so. He is not interested in advancing the medium he just want to reproduce last years innovations and give it fancy new packaging to mass market to as many people as possible. Before long the company will be incapable of creating anything new or interesting and be left eating the dust of other trailblazers like valve and ea.

Chairman Meow

sink wrote: »

Robert Kotick is dragging Activision/Blizzard down by killing innovation. It's a bizarre business strategy that can only work short term. The games industry is the fastest evolving entertainment industry in the world, paradigm shifts happen every 5 years or so. He is not interested in advancing the medium he just want to reproduce last years innovations and give it fancy new packaging to mass market to as many people as possible. Before long the company will be incapable of creating anything new or interesting and be left eating the dust of other trailblazers like valve and ea.

did anybody ever think they would hear the words 'trailblazing' and 'EA' in the same sentence?
Hard to believe there was a time when EA were the Activision of their day.

Krieg

Id love to know what they did

In an SEC filing made this morning, Activision cited a human resources investigation into "breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward."

Based on the information we currently have, at least one of those employees may have included Infinity Ward CTO Jason West. It's possible Vince Zampella is the other unmentioned employee.

"This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation," read the filing. "At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company."

Read more: http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/702911/Security-Appears-Unannounced-At-Infinity-Ward-Studio-Heads-Missing-Staff-Freaked-Out-.html#ixzz0h1D4x8iF

Looks like there will be court proceedings involved so we'll find out

Retr0gamer

I'd guess they wanted to try their hand at a new IP while activision just want them to keep churning out CoD games every 2 years.

Mr E

I hope their next project is a major new IP and they make billions with it.

Gunmonkey

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'd guess they wanted to try their hand at a new IP while activision just want them to keep churning out CoD games every 2 years.

I say either this or since they were the heads (and probably co-founders) of IW they had some ownership stake in the CoD license itself.

Will probably get a comment from Kotick about it inbetween his weekly ritual of devouring puppy souls and counting his bonus after MW2's sales

WolfForager

And now the Studio Head/CEO is gone..



EDIT: This is the closet thing we get to a soap in the gaming world... Possible name pl0x? :P

Kiith

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'd guess they wanted to try their hand at a new IP while activision just want them to keep churning out CoD games every 2 years.

How dare they!

Gunmonkey

http://www.bingegamer.net/2010/infinity-ward-has-not-received-royalties-for-modern-warfare-2/

Ze rabbit hole is going deeper and deeeper. IW's contract (not sure the scale of it) expires in October, and apparantly IW was in talk with another publisher tomake games for them. Since Activison owns a stake in IW, this could be seen as using Activision materials to make games for a rival publisher.

Also, rumour is that IW hasnt sen ANY of the $1 Billion MW2 earned Activison.

dreamers75

Gunmonkey wrote: »

Since Activison owns a stake in IW, this could be seen as using Activision materials to make games for a rival publisher.

Unlike IW to do something like that again

projectmayhem

Gunmonkey wrote: »

Also, rumour is that IW hasnt sen ANY of the $1 Billion MW2 earned Activison.

Of course they haven't. IW were just the code monkeys essentially, Activision put the money forward much like a movie studio gives producers money. Movie producers never see the money a studio see's, same as record labels, banks... etc.

Retr0gamer

However if there are royalties in the contract like a lot of people are saying then there's something very wrong.

johnny_ultimate

Seems like a sorry little episode - disgraceful to see IW treated like this (bouncers???) after pretty much handing Activision buckets of cash. That is the way things are going alas, and I hope those who have been fired find other work quick.

allanb49

Awaits backlash wonder how this will affect the game and dlc

Star Bingo

so this is what happens eh.. they had the perfect little ecosystem of an engine to capitalize on for possibly decades, yet upset the potential lifespan of planet COD by attaining so much $$$ where greed overload ensues and so become embroiled in an embittered row with the developers, ultimately doing away w/ em? don't tell me it's going out like this. game > planet

Kiith

Is anyone actually surprised that Activision will do anything, and i mean anything, to **** over anyone if it means them making money? They are, by a country mile, the biggest bunch of money hungry ****ers in the industry. Robert Kotick doesnt care what people think, he doesnt care if they release good games, he doesnt even care about his own employee's.

He cares about 1 thing; money. Which probably makes him an excellent CEO.

Even if he is a ****er. :pac:

Retr0gamer

I actually used to like activision when they started up but they have just become everything I hate about publishers in the last 4 years. I hated EA buying up studios and ruining them, and they still do, look at pandemic but I honestly think that activision at the moment is worse than EA at their worst. If it wasn't for MW2 and WoW they would be in trouble this year, Kotaku pointed that out today. Hopefully the money hungry execs that know nothing about the market will be the downfall off the company. These are the guys the green lit the Tony Hawks Ride disaster.

Please let this never happen to Capcom.

wayne040576

I don't think they really care what anyone thinks. They know people will buy their games no matter how much bitching they do on message boards.

They also put a stop to the King's Quest 8 fan project:

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2010/03/02/activision-shuts-down-kings-quest-fan-project/

dreamers75

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I actually used to like activision when they started up but they have just become everything I hate about publishers in the last 4 years. I hated EA buying up studios and ruining them, and they still do, look at pandemic but I honestly think that activision at the moment is worse than EA at their worst. If it wasn't for MW2 and WoW they would be in trouble this year, Kotaku pointed that out today. Hopefully the money hungry execs that know nothing about the market will be the downfall off the company. These are the guys the green lit the Tony Hawks Ride disaster.

Please let this never happen to Capcom.

Bet someone posted that years ago when EA made good games

dreamers75

http://kotaku.com/5483492/scandal-hits-call-of-duty-devs-what-we-know-%5Bupdate%5D?skyline=true&s=i

http://kotaku.com/5484046/infinity-ward-vs-activision-the-battle-for-creative-direction


Im guessing they got busted for trying to set up a new studio and had some IP belonging to IW/Activision. Hence the heavies being sent in.

EA sued them previously for stealing IP belonging to MOHAA/2015 (textures and models etc:) and won.

Once a durty dog

WolfForager

http://kotaku.com/5484026/activisions-new-plans-for-call-of-duty-include-new-developer-new-genres

Jaysus, Activision look like they're gonna milk the franchise til the cow dies a long and painful death, can't say that is surpsrising. IW probably wanted nothing to do with it.

sink

WolfForager wrote: »

http://kotaku.com/5484026/activisions-new-plans-for-call-of-duty-include-new-developer-new-genres

Jaysus, Activision look like they're gonna milk the franchise til the cow dies a long and painful death, can't say that is surpsrising. IW probably wanted nothing to do with it.

Be prepared to see Call Of Duty/Guitar Hero/Warcraft mash ups. I mean if each game sells millions on their own, a combination of all three will sell billions. :P

SeantheMan

IWnet sucks ass !!

Maybe its justice for not giving us dedi servers on the PC

Cuddlesworth

98% of their income comes from WOW? I would be very worried, very very worried if I was CEO, if that games wain's in popularity that would spell a death knoll for IW.

WolfForager

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

98% of their income comes from WOW? I would be very worried, very very worried if I was CEO, if that games wain's in popularity that would spell a death knoll for IW.

98% of Blizzards income, not Activision as a whole.

wes

Wow, very surprised by this. IW made them a ton of money and this is hwo they treat these guys? Oh well, looks like COD will die a slow and painful death at the hands of Activision then.

Hopefully, the ousted head can come up with a new studio, and start making some great games.

WolfForager

http://kotaku.com/5484362/where-to-next-for-call-of-duty/gallery/

Hilarious possible new titles

Drakar

WolfForager wrote: »

98% of Blizzards income, not Activision as a whole.

This should change after SC2 and DIII of course.

super_furry

Only for a little while. With no subscription fees, they’ll be minor blips on the balance sheets.

SeantheMan

Maybe they'll go back to their roots, rejoin EA and make the next MOH !! ...awww....one can dream

sarumite

Chairman Meow wrote: »

did anybody ever think they would hear the words 'trailblazing' and 'EA' in the same sentence?
Hard to believe there was a time when EA were the Activision of their day.

LOL, I was thinking the same thing....then along came Burnout paradise and battfield bad company as well as a host of original IP such as Dead space, Mirrors edge, and dragon age...hell even Fifa has overtaken PES as the game of choice.

degrassinoel

super_furry wrote: »

Only for a little while. With no subscription fees, they’ll be minor blips on the balance sheets.

the real question is how long will WoW last? Its been a money-dynamo for the last 5 or 6 years, with another expansion imminent - possibly another two solid years of 15million or so subscriptions. I doubt they'll stop at that either, far too much money to be had.

PogMoThoin

For those of you who aren’t yet aware, Activision locked down the Infinity Ward offices after a meeting with (former) Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella. When the story first broke nobody had any Earthly clue why Activision would shítcan the studio co-founders and lock the Infinity Ward offices down like they were trying to quarantine a zombie outbreak..................

...............................Infinity Ward has yet to be paid a single dime in royalties for Modern Warfare 2, which has earned Activision over one billion dollars in revenue. (NOTE: To clarify, everyone who spoke with James mentioned this. Whether or not IW and Activision had an agreement in place for royalty payments is unknown at this time. It’s just curious that everyone brought this up.)

http://www.bingegamer.net/2010/infinity-ward-has-not-received-royalties-for-modern-warfare-2/

Burgo

PogMoThoin wrote: »

http://www.bingegamer.net/2010/infinity-ward-has-not-received-royalties-for-modern-warfare-2/

Some media reports have inaccurately conflated this week's situation with outstanding royalties from Activision to Infinity Ward. But sources confirm to Gamasutra that Activision routinely pays royalties at the end of the quarter after which they were earned, which will begin next month, meaning the publisher is not overdue in its financial responsibilities.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27482/Analysis_Infinity_Wards_DoubleEdged_Sword.php

PogMoThoin

It looks like the former leadership of Infinity Ward are not going down without a fight. Former Infinity Ward CTO Jason West and president Vince Zampella have officially filed a lawsuit against Activision, according to a press release issued by their law firm, O'Melveny & Myers LLP.

According to the release, West and Zampella were terminated by Activision "weeks" before receiving royalties for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Activision purchased Infinity Ward in 2003.

"We were shocked by Activision's decision to terminate our contract," said West. "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."

http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/702970/Infinity-Wards-Jason-West-And-Vince-Zampella-File-Lawsuit-Against-Activision-.html

God I fcukin detest Activision with a passion, not only have they killed Sierra Entertainment, one of the best game studios there has ever been, now they've gone and killed Infinity Ward as well

dreamers75

PogMoThoin wrote: »

http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/702970/Infinity-Wards-Jason-West-And-Vince-Zampella-File-Lawsuit-Against-Activision-.html

God I fcukin detest Activision with a passion, not only have they killed Sierra Entertainment, one of the best game studios there has ever been, now they've gone and killed Infinity Ward as well

Odd i used to like EA they made road rash, i used to like activison they made pitfall and cali games(yeah your all humming the tune now).

greedy bastards :mad:

Kiith

Drakar

dreamers75

Court sort of finished, some mad **** has come out of it.

too many websites to post articles from

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-17-activision-attempted-to-hack-zampella-west-email-report

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-17-zampella-west-now-want-over-USD1-billion-in-damages-from-activision

I thought it was going to be over.

legal lads want to try make a stab at wtf Activision are going to be done for?

calex71

dreamers75 wrote: »

Court sort of finished, some mad **** has come out of it.

too many websites to post articles from

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-17-activision-attempted-to-hack-zampella-west-email-report

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-17-zampella-west-now-want-over-USD1-billion-in-damages-from-activision

I thought it was going to be over.

legal lads want to try make a stab at wtf Activision are going to be done for?

Lmao some of the stuff in those articles could make it into the plots for movies or games, like wanting to stage a fire drill to hack into their email

Cuddlesworth

calex71 wrote: »

like wanting to stage a fire drill to hack into their email

Would be the easiest way to do it. They would really be relying on both of them leaving their machines unlocked. .One of the guys I work with used to check Executive rooms/computers in a large company for bugs/devices. He found too many of them over the years. Some really clever ones too. It gets like that in company's that only talk about things in multiples of millions without having to point it out.

Shows how stupid the guys on top are too. You spend a fortune on dual vendor firewalls, secure locked rooms, password policys, account access restrictions and IT security training for staff, then go straight to your IT guy and ask him to hack into somebody else's system? It doesn't happen.