Activision fires Infinity Ward heads for "insubordination"

There was a lot of trouble surrounding Call of Duty developer, Infinity Ward, on Monday, March 1st. And as of that day, IW heads Jason West and Vince Zampella have been fired by their parent company, Activision.

 

Details of the incident that occurred at the Infinity Ward campus were scarce the first time around, as a “bunch of bouncer types” security guards showed up in the vicinity. At the same time, Zampella and West had a meeting with Activision and were not present in the office or anywhere. The “bouncers” did not disclose any reasons why they appeared when approached by IW staff members. According to G4TV, the mood around the Infinity Ward office was described as “freaked out and confused.”

 

According to Kotaku, an image appeared that apparently came from IW co-founder Jason West’s Facebook wall, with his latest update saying “Jason West is drinking. Also, no longer employed.” To further make his situation evident, he also updated his LinkedIn profile, stating his Infinity Ward occupation was described as a “past” job (January 2001-March 2010).

 

[IMAGE SOURCE: Game Informer]

 

Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward’s community manager, addressed the issue on his Twitter account, saying “I should also say, while I appreciate all the calls, tweets, messages and hearing my ringtone a lot. They're in vain - as I have no info.”

 

Activision finally made the firing more recognized as they issued an SEC filing that same morning; they cited a human resources examination mentioning “breaches of contract” and acts of “insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward.” The filing also said that the issue is “expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation.”

 

Binge Gamer claimed that Infinity Ward “has yet to be paid a single dime in royalties for Modern Warfare 2,” and further stating that the company was also “having discussions with rival publishers.” If that is indeed legitimate, then that would cover the breach of contract Activision filed against Infinity Ward.

 

Activision CEO Robert Kotick was said to have addressed the company shortly afterwards.

 

More details coming soon. Discuss this in the forums!

 

David Gabriel, NoobFeed