Activision invades Infinity Ward; IW Heads "Unemployed"

[the7k]

http://kotaku.com/5483492/scandal-hits- ... e=true&s=i

Interesting stuff. All we know is that Activision sent in a bunch of 'bounder-types' to Infinity Ward, got IW heads Vince Zampella and Jason West, no one saw them for a while, and now both of their online pages say that they are unemployed.

Not all the facts are here yet, but it looks like Activision is going to be in a load of trouble when Modern Warfare 3 is made by Treyarch.

In fact, some of the rumors circulating say that's the very reason these two got fired - that Activision said that either IW makes MW3 by the end of this year, or they'll get Treyarch to do it... and, basically, the IW heads didn't want either to happen. Just a rumor, who knows the truth, but it seems like something Activision would do.

So, first RedOctane and now Infinity Ward. Activision sure does love shooting itself in the foot. Will Blizzard be next?

[Niode]

Doesn't Blizzard own Activision?

[the7k]

Bobby Kotick was the President of Activision. Activision merges with Vivendi (who owned Blizzard), forming Activision Blizzard. Bobby Kotick is the President of Activision Blizzard.

They may have tried to make it seem like an even merger, but I think we know who owns who.

[Niode]

Right ok. I wasn't sure of the details of the merger you see. Depending on what you read some made it seem that Blizzard own Activision, some the other way round. Thanks for clearing it up.

[the7k]

http://kotaku.com/5484046/infinity-ward ... -direction

Looks like IW Heads could have been nixed thanks to a combination of being pissed at Activision itself (to the point of only dealing with two actual Activision employees directly) and wanting to be creative.

They apparently wanted to do a futuristic shooter - perhaps this was Bobby's way of saying "No." So, most likely, Jason and Vince are going to make that futuristic shooter happen on their own.

Here's hoping their proposed game does as well as Timesplitters.

[the7k]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/activ ... -royalties

Here's yet another thing that may have caused this rift: IW hasn't gotten one cent from the sale of Modern Warfare 2 yet. Wow. That's... pretty major.

[Niode]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/activ ... -royalties

Here's yet another thing that may have caused this rift: IW hasn't gotten one cent from the sale of Modern Warfare 2 yet. Wow. That's... pretty major.

Holy crap that's pretty bad. I know Activision isn't exactly the best company in the world, but that is some serious moolah they have pretty much stolen. Just think of the amount of interest Activision is (illegally?) rolling in!

[J T]

These guys are too successful to not bounce back. This could be the best thing to happen to Infinity Ward since they left EA to stop doing Medal of Honor games.

[DerekG52]

Not surprising during Kotick's reign. MW or more generally the CoD series will be an annual $60 tradition featuring minor updates. It reminds me of the plot of XXX or other movies where the evil maniac kills the scientists after they have created the ultimate weapon. Hopefully Blizzard will be spared from this, they are uniquely able to produce 1 game every 5 years and have people just itching to buy the next one. On the other hand, maybe we will see Diablo 3 before 2020.

[Pulsar_t]

Activision Blizzard are my #1 to avoid when getting games. I don't care even if they publish Shenmue 3. Their greed is insatiable. I like to set some sort of standards for myself, even if it doesn't affect those pricks.