West and Zampella explain EA move

The two men at the heart of the controversial sacking from Infinity Ward and signing with EA have spoken out about their decision to side with Activision’s biggest rival.

The situation was kind of forced on us, so once that happened the next day we were flooded with calls and emails from publishers interested in working with us, which came at a great time for us and obviously in a tough situation, so people showing that much interest in us really helped us get through it,” Respawn Entertainment’s general manager Jason Zampella told Eurogamer.

The studio’s president Jason West added: We had a lot of offers come our way and deals were presented to us, and we looked at it and we really thought the EA Partners would give us the freedom and independence we needed to make great games. They respected our culture, and we own the IP, so we can make sure it’s treated with the respect it deserves.”

Though unable to go into deal concerning their ongoing dispute with Activision, Zampella did say that it sucks, horribly” with West stating we think it’s false and outrageous and we’re glad we’re able to now move on and focus on the future”.

The pair added that the recruitment process for their new venture begins today, as can be demonstrated by the studio’s rather functional launch website, though they did allude to possible hires from their former studio Infinity Ward.

Activision stated earlier that it wasn’t surprised” by the pair’s decision to pen a deal with EA.