Activision has reportedly paid $42 million to 40 former Infinity Ward employees, as part of the long overdue royalties from Modern Warfare 2.
Polygon reports that the payment made is not part of the settlement ahead of this months trial between Activision and ex-Infinity Ward employees, including the former studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, both Activision and the former Infinity Ward employees are set to appear in court in Los Angeles next Tuesday.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick decided that the evidence did not implicate the 40 members of the Infinity Ward Employee Group and decided to pay them what he thought they were owed, which would enable the publisher to put their main focus onto West and Zampella.
Bruce Isaacs, attorney for the Infinity Ward Employee Group, labelled the payment a “cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial”.
“I can confirm for you that it happened today,” he said. “I...
Polygon reports that the payment made is not part of the settlement ahead of this months trial between Activision and ex-Infinity Ward employees, including the former studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, both Activision and the former Infinity Ward employees are set to appear in court in Los Angeles next Tuesday.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick decided that the evidence did not implicate the 40 members of the Infinity Ward Employee Group and decided to pay them what he thought they were owed, which would enable the publisher to put their main focus onto West and Zampella.
Bruce Isaacs, attorney for the Infinity Ward Employee Group, labelled the payment a “cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial”.
“I can confirm for you that it happened today,” he said. “I...
- 5/15/2012
- by Tony Hicks
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
With the forced departures of Vince Zampella and Jason West from Infinity Ward, the future landscapes of both a franchise and a genre were shifted. Perhaps in a parallel universe this never happened, and Call of Duty 12: Modern Warfare In Space will be a riotous success. For those of us in this world, however, the schism resulted in the creation of Respawn Entertainment by the former heads of Infinity Ward.
The rift has widened further still — as of this week, 17 Infinity Ward employees have defected to Respawn Entertainment, including lead designer Todd Alderman, lead animators Mark Grisby and John Paul Messerly, lead environmental artist Chris Cherubini, software engineer Rayme C. Vinson, and programmer John Shiring. Thanks to social media, the former Infinity Ward employees revealed their new affiliations via twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The (extremely) new company has already signed on to work with EA Games, though no word...
The rift has widened further still — as of this week, 17 Infinity Ward employees have defected to Respawn Entertainment, including lead designer Todd Alderman, lead animators Mark Grisby and John Paul Messerly, lead environmental artist Chris Cherubini, software engineer Rayme C. Vinson, and programmer John Shiring. Thanks to social media, the former Infinity Ward employees revealed their new affiliations via twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The (extremely) new company has already signed on to work with EA Games, though no word...
- 4/26/2010
- by Amanda Schuckman
- GameRant
Seven ex-Infinity Ward staff members have joined Respawn Entertainment. Lead animators Mark Grisby and John Paul Messerly, as well as lead environmental artist Chris Cherubini, have been confirmed as joining the studio, according to G4. Other staff members include lead designers Todd Alderman and Mackey McCandlish, programmer Jon Shiring and software engineer Rayme C. Vinson. They all start work on May 1. The workers have (more)...
- 4/23/2010
- by By Matthew Reynolds
- Digital Spy
Just one day after former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella officially unveiled Respawn Entertainment, a number of prominent, valuable employees have left beleaguered studio Infinity Ward. Have a look at who they are, and what they did at Infinity Ward:
Chris Cherubin — Lead Artist Bruce Ferriz — Senior Animator Steve Fukuda — Lead designer Mackey McCandlish — Lead Designer Zied Reike — Lead designer Jon Shiring — Programmer Rayme Vinson — Programmer
Of this current group, only person has indicated an immediate destination: Bruce Ferriz is bound for Big Red Button Entertainment, the studio founded in 2008 by former Naughty Dog Art Director Bob Rafei. As for the balance of the individuals listed above, speculation that they may join West and Zampella at Respawn Entertainment remains, for now, just that. The timing of the departures, however, is difficult to ignore.
Factoring in last week’s departures, Todd Alderman (Lead Designer) and Francesco Gigliotti (Lead...
Chris Cherubin — Lead Artist Bruce Ferriz — Senior Animator Steve Fukuda — Lead designer Mackey McCandlish — Lead Designer Zied Reike — Lead designer Jon Shiring — Programmer Rayme Vinson — Programmer
Of this current group, only person has indicated an immediate destination: Bruce Ferriz is bound for Big Red Button Entertainment, the studio founded in 2008 by former Naughty Dog Art Director Bob Rafei. As for the balance of the individuals listed above, speculation that they may join West and Zampella at Respawn Entertainment remains, for now, just that. The timing of the departures, however, is difficult to ignore.
Factoring in last week’s departures, Todd Alderman (Lead Designer) and Francesco Gigliotti (Lead...
- 4/14/2010
- by Jeff Schille
- GameRant
The personnel changes at Infinity Ward keep occurring in twos this year. First, Activision removed bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella, giving way to a round of lawsuits. Then, lead designer Todd Alderman and lead software engineer Francesco Gigliotti departed. Now, programmer Jon Shiring and designer Mackey McCandlish have reportedly joined that list as well.
"After almost six years at Infinity Ward, I resigned today," Shiring wrote on his Twitter account. "I'm incredibly proud of everything we accomplished and I'm going to miss everyone."
McCandlish ended his eight-year run with Infinity Ward with goodbyes over Facebook, according to Kotaku.
Given their bodies of work, neither should have much problem finding a new place to settle down. However, given the timing of the departures and yesterday's announcement that West and Zampella have established a new studio called Respawn Entertainment, a lot of eyes are going to be watching which former Infinity...
"After almost six years at Infinity Ward, I resigned today," Shiring wrote on his Twitter account. "I'm incredibly proud of everything we accomplished and I'm going to miss everyone."
McCandlish ended his eight-year run with Infinity Ward with goodbyes over Facebook, according to Kotaku.
Given their bodies of work, neither should have much problem finding a new place to settle down. However, given the timing of the departures and yesterday's announcement that West and Zampella have established a new studio called Respawn Entertainment, a lot of eyes are going to be watching which former Infinity...
- 4/13/2010
- by Brian Warmoth
- MTV Multiplayer
The deal is done. As many expected, Jason West and Vince Zampella have formed a new development studio. Christened Respawn Entertainment, the new studio has entered into an exlclusive publishing and distribution deal with industry giant (and one-time Zampella and West employer) Electronic Arts, through the EA Partners program.
The duo’s deal with EA, “positions the Respawn Entertainment leadership team as the owners of the intellectual property they create.” Though IP ownership was a sticking point in Zampella and West’s deal with Activision, the wording of the press release seems odd. Legally speaking, “positioned as owners,” may not be the same as “are owners.” In any case, the specifics of the deal have not been disclosed. Vince Zampella, General Manager of Respawn Entertainment, had this to say:
“Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me. For the past decade we led a great development team and...
The duo’s deal with EA, “positions the Respawn Entertainment leadership team as the owners of the intellectual property they create.” Though IP ownership was a sticking point in Zampella and West’s deal with Activision, the wording of the press release seems odd. Legally speaking, “positioned as owners,” may not be the same as “are owners.” In any case, the specifics of the deal have not been disclosed. Vince Zampella, General Manager of Respawn Entertainment, had this to say:
“Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me. For the past decade we led a great development team and...
- 4/12/2010
- by Jeff Schille
- GameRant
One month after Activision and Infinity Ward parted ways with the studio's heads, Vince Zampella and Jason West, two more key players in the "Modern Warfare" franchise have also left. Neither lead designer Todd Alderman nor lead software engineer Francesco Gigliotti currently work at Infinity Ward, according to screen grabs of their LinkedIn profiles, and their departures are believed to be voluntary.
Though the nature of their exit remains unclear, a source close to the studio said that both Alderman and Gigliotti resigned, according to Kotaku. Whether or not those resignations were more amicable than Zampella and West's sackings is also unknown, though the ex-bosses have since filed suit against Activision and signed on to be represented by CAA for their future endeavors.
It's entirely plausible that a competing studio may have made them an offer in the wake of the transition period Infinity Ward is no doubt experiencing right now,...
Though the nature of their exit remains unclear, a source close to the studio said that both Alderman and Gigliotti resigned, according to Kotaku. Whether or not those resignations were more amicable than Zampella and West's sackings is also unknown, though the ex-bosses have since filed suit against Activision and signed on to be represented by CAA for their future endeavors.
It's entirely plausible that a competing studio may have made them an offer in the wake of the transition period Infinity Ward is no doubt experiencing right now,...
- 4/6/2010
- by Brian Warmoth
- MTV Multiplayer
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