A Los Angeles judge has finally set a date as to when the lawsuit between Jason West & Vince Zampella against Activision can begin. The run-in to E3 2012 just got a whole lot more interesting.
Jason West and Vince Zampella
The pair had formed Infinity Ward in 2002 with Grant Collier after leaving Medal of Honor: Allied Assault developer 2015 Inc.
Eight years after creating the studio, West and Zampella are fired by Activision for what it calls “insubordination.
A majority of Infinity Ward staff have since gone on to help form Respawn Entertainment with West and Zampella. Its first game will be with EA Partners.
Infinity Ward itself is currently working on Modern Warfare 3 in collaboration with upstart studio Sledgehammer Games.
Its now been confirmed that the case will begin from Monday, May 7, 2012. The ex-Infinity Ward heads, now leading Respawn Entertainment, are suing the publisher over unpaid royalties from the development of Modern Warfare 2
Months after MW2’s release, Activision fired West and Zampella in early March 2010 for what it claimed was “insubordination.” The pair fired back with the suit, aiming to claim $125 million in royalties and rights to the Modern Warfare IP.
It was soon countered by Activision, days before the announcement of Respawn’s formation, with the former claiming for $400 million of damages from West, Zampella and EA, who were claimed to “hijack” the duo from Infinity Ward via Creative Artists Agency.
“I’m really looking forward to having our day in Court,” Zampella told Forbes.
Respawn are currently working on its first game that will be published through EA Partners, with the IP to be owned by the studio.
“We have new and exciting creativity and development going on at Respawn, to be announced in the future,” added West.
If there’s one pre-E3 event you watch next year, it’s gonna have to be this. Lock the mountains and grab popcorn.
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