Call of Duty Gate

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:03 pm Post subject: Call of Duty Gate

Here's some scoop on the latest Call of Duty Gate -(reference to Watergate I think)

Quote from the IGN Site.

"Everything We Know About Call of Dutygate
Catch up on the ongoing legal war between Infinity Ward and Activision.
by Ryan Geddes
March 5, 2010 - This week, the gaming world watched with morbid fascination as Infinity Ward, the development studio that created the enormously popular Call of Duty series, imploded. In a flurry of press releases, legal filings, rumors and social networking status changes, Infinity Ward developers and publisher/owner Activision took their private war public.

The extent of the damage is still unknown, but we have solid intel in a few key areas. First, we know key Infinity Ward developers Jason West and Vince Zampella have been forced out in the wake of a bitter dispute with their corporate masters. It's trouble, we're told, that had been brewing for a long time. We also know Activision is already moving on with the Call of Duty franchise, giving new installments to internal studios Sledgehammer Games and Treyarch.

So what's really going on? Here's a quick and dirty guide to everything we know about the Call of Dutygate so far.

Monday

Trouble Begins Brewing At Infinity Ward

News starts trickling in about an incident at Infinity Ward's L.A.-area studios. Employees report seeing unfamiliar faces around the office, and rumors begin to fly. Infinity Ward employees are reportedly shaken by all the confusion. Studio head and COO Vince Zampella and President Jason West change their Infinity Ward employment statuses on the popular online business networking site LinkedIn to "past."

Tuesday

Activision Confirms Infinity Ward Departures

Up to now, the fate of Zampella and West has been just rumor and speculation. But the picture begins to fill in when Activision files a notice about the change in its key personnel with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. There's apparently been a late-night internal human resources investigation, and when it's all over, Zampella and West are confirmed to be out. Activision slots its own execs into their old positions. Notably, the company's head of Asia Pacific publishing takes control of the Call of Duty franchise.

New Call of Duty Title Announced

Remember when the creators of Dead Space left EA to form a new internal Activision studio called Sledgehammer Games? Turns out they've been tapped to take Call of Duty in an "action-adventure" direction. Internal Activision studio Treyarch is already at work on a 2010 CoD installment, and Sledgehammer's entry is on deck sometime in the future. Infinity Ward is still making add-ons for Modern Warfare 2. Beyond that, their future involvement with the series is unknown. A new Call of Duty game is announced for 2011, but its developer is unknown. Activision announces that it plans to expand the franchise into new markets, including parts of Asia.

Thursday

Infinity Ward Founders File Lawsuit Against Activision

Details emerge as West and Zampella lawyer up. They claim Activision refused to pay them for their work on Modern Warfare 2 and then launched a sham insubordination investigation as a pretext to force them out of the company. West and Zampella say in the documents that Activision witheld royalty payments due to them for Modern Warfare 2. In their lawsuit against the publisher, the two industry veterans claim ownership of certain aspects of the Call of Duty franchise. Activision begs to differ.

Activision Responds to Infinity Ward Lawsuit

Later in the day, the publisher fires back with a strongly-worded response to the former Infinity Ward heads' suit. In a press release, Activision says it is "disappointed" with the ousted Infinity Ward leaders and calls their legal claims "meritless." A spokesperson says the publisher "showed enormous patience" with the developers and was forced to fire them based on their conduct. Activision assures fans that it controls Call of Duty and will continue to make games in the series for the millions of fans that helped make it a success.

Court Documents Detail Infinity Ward's Clash With Activision

Infinity Ward's lawsuit against Activision surfaces. The 16-page filing explains that West and Zampella had an agreement with Activision that would allow them to retain creative control of the Modern Warfare brand or any Call of Duty game set in the present or future. They claim in the suit that Activision refused to honor that agreement after Modern Warfare 2 launched. They seek $36 million in damages for unpaid royalties. "

Rolling Eyes

Joined: Jan 11, 2009 Posts: 253 Status: **Offline**

That is GREAT news.
Karma is a MotherF'er.
They screwed over the PC player and all of the CoD clans that ran their own game servers and now karma has bit them in the ass.
I wonder if Activision will provide the server hosting for the Modern Warfare 2 players? If not then everyone who bought that game will lose "matchmaking".
Will iw.net continue to operate since they don't have a legal claim to the Call of Duty title?
This will be interesting.
Infinity Ward should have never went in the direction that they did with this game!
$18 million (x2)each for lost royalties, I say hahaha! You deserve it because you broke the trust and Loyalties of the PC gaming community in the name of profits!
Where is your profit now?
R.I.P. Infinity Ward!
I am Glad I didn't give them my money!

*BTW...I have never considered the Modern Warfare games to be Call of Duty. CoD is a WWII FPS game!...imo.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:36 pm Post subject: Re: Call of Duty Gate

I second that Motion - CoD - should always have been WW II - related.

Good comment Geek!

Cool

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 7:38 pm Post subject: Re: Call of Duty Gate

yup, its a real shame , there will be no tears from me.

Joined: Jan 12, 2009 Posts: 134 Status: **Offline**

CoD 4 was enjoyable as it gave a break to the PPSH. But yes boohoo to both IW and activision I hope they sue each other into nothingness. Im with Geek no Royalties were garnered from My purchase. Thats right I didnt buy it.

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:57 am Post subject: Re: Call of Duty Gate

nor did i, and i wont bother picking it up in the bargain bin later. i will try my best to avoid buying activision games in the future, f*ck em.