Rumor: Infinity Ward Had Been Courting EA, Other Publishers [Modern Warfare]
You’ve read the lawsuit filed by Infinity Ward’s former bosses, now check out a supposed internal Activision memo, which alleges that Call of Duty creators Vince Zampella and Jason West had been flirting with, of all people, Electronic Arts.
The memo, obtained by G4, says that Activision is currently, as part of its own investigations, on the hunt for certain documents related to Infinity Ward’s recent conduct. Those are:
-”Documents regarding past, current or future IW projects, including but not limited to any and all businesses analyses of future projects (e.g. Modern Warfare 3)”
- “Documents regarding any potential ‘spin out’ of IW, including but not limited to any communications with IW employees, West or Zampella regarding forming a new studio independent of Activision”
- “Documents regarding West and Zampella’s communications with Activision’s competitors, including but not limited to Electronic Arts”
Well well well. Communications with other publishers? Including EA, the same people Zampella and West walked out on in 2002? Link that allegation with the fact the pair believe Infinity Ward held the rights to the “Modern Warfare” brand, and not Activision itself, and things get juicy.
That would certainly explain the to-and-fro over Modern Warfare 2′s name. Is it beyond the realms of possibility to suspect that West and Zampella had been seeking a break from Activision that long ago, and calling the game simply “Modern Warfare 2″ – a brand they thought IW, and not Activision would own – would be a nice way to maintain momentum if they switched publishers?
No, I don’t think it is.
Activision Seeking Internal Documents Related To West, Zampella And…Electronic Arts? [G4]
