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The attorney representing Jason West and Vince Zampella – the Infinity Ward founders dismissed by owner Activision – has called the publisher ‘misguided’.
Robert M. Schwartz, the attorney representing West and Zampella, was speaking in response to a counter-claim made by Activision today which details why the publisher fired the two for ‘insubordination’.
Activision says the two courted other potential employers and their colleagues in plans to form a spin-off studio – all while production on Modern Warfare 2, one of the most lucrative games ever, was well underway.
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It made the claims in a filing made as the legal fight between the two groups becomes increasingly ugly – West and Zampella filed a lawsuit relatively quickly after being fired for gross misconduct, while Activision’s counter-suit makes a number of claims back against them.
Robert M. Schwartz, West and Zampella’s legal council, branded Activision’s account as "false and outrageous" in a discussion with Kotaku:
"Activision’s inaccurate and misguided allegations lose sight of the reality here: None of the false claims of insubordination or breach of duties had any negative affect on Activision — none.
"Modern Warfare 2 has been the world’s most successful video game. And none of this changes the fact that Jason and Vince would still be at Infinity Ward developing new games except that Activision kicked them out.
"This is just an Activision tactic to avoid paying Jason and Vince and everyone else at Infinity Ward the millions of dollars they all earned and that Activision owes them. Since being fired by Activision, Jason and Vince have taken steps to regain control over their creative future and plan to have an announcement very soon."
