Activision: ex-IW bosses ‘self-serving schemers’

The bitter saga enveloping Activision and the former owners of developer Infinity Ward has taken a further turn with the publisher confirming it is to countersue both Jason West and Vincent Zampella.

The pair filed a lawsuit of their own last month claiming that they were owed money, that they had been “interrogated for over six hours in a windowless conference room” and that “other Infinity Ward employees were brought to tears in their questioning and accusations and threatened West and Zampella with insubordination if they attempted to console them”.

In reply, Activision has claimed that both men violated their employment contracts and fiduciary duties. More specifically, Reuters reports that they are accused of being “insubordinate and self-serving schemers” who actively negotiated with other publishers contrary to their contract.

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It also claims that the pair dissuaded Activision from paying bonuses to Infinity Ward employees “in order to make them "easier to poach" when the men departed to set up their own company”.

The new lawsuit also includes alleged correspondence between West and Zampella and rival publishers.

Further claims include the accusation that both “"refused to sign standard exit documents representing that they had returned all Activision property, including computer code, and would honour the confidentiality obligations that they have to Activision”.

In a further statement released to IGN, Activision stated: “Activision’s cross-complaint filed today against Jason West and Vince Zampella makes clear that the company did not arrive at its decision to fire them lightly or without good reason.

“It further shows Activision was forced to sever the relationship when it became apparent that long-standing attempts failed to convince West and Zampella to conform their conduct to what was required of them by their contracts, company policies and as fiduciaries.”