Activision blasts ex-developers as ‘self-serving schemers’

LOS ANGELES — Activision Blizzard Inc.
came out with guns blazing in its battle with two former lead
developers of “Call of Duty,” the game publisher’s multibillion-dollar
military franchise.

In a lawsuit that read more like a dramatic Hollywood script, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Activision claimed it fired Jason West and Vincent Zampella in March because the two “morphed from valued, responsible executives
into insubordinate and self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack
Activision’s assets for their own personal gain.”

Activision’s suit, filed Friday morning in Los
Angeles County Superior Court, counters a complaint that West and
Zampella filed against their former employer on March 3, two days after being fired as the heads of Infinity Ward, the Encino, Calif.-based
studio purchased by Activision in 2002. Infinity Ward has developed
several “Call of Duty” games since the inception of the franchise in
2003, including the original.

In their lawsuit, West and Zampella allege that
Activision fired them as a way to deprive the developers of royalties
earned from “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” which has generated more
than $1.5 billion in worldwide revenue since its November launch. The lawsuit claims Activision owes the duo $36 million in royalties and damages.

Activision responded in its 23-page complaint that
“West and Zampella’s misdeeds formed an unlawful pattern and practice
of conduct that was designed to steal the (Infinity West) studio, which
is one of Activision’s most valuable assets — at the expense of
Activision and its shareholders and for their own personal financial
gain.”

The suit did not specify a dollar amount that
Activision would seek, but claimed the publisher was entitled to
withhold all future payments to West and Zampella to recover past
payments “during the period of their disloyalty” and compensatory
damages.

The lawsuit says Zampella and West went “on a secret trip by private jet to Northern California, arranged by their Hollywood
agent, to meet with the most senior executives of Activision’s closest
competitor.” Creative Artists Agency says it recently took Zampella and
West as clients.

The lawsuit did not name the rival company, but Electronic Arts Inc. is based in Northern California’s Redwood City and is thought to be who Activision is referring to in its filing. Asked whether this was the case, EA spokesman Jeff Brown said, “We don’t have the time to comment on the many lawsuits Activision files against its employees and creative partners.”

Among the charges Activision leveled at the two
developers was an attempt to “prevent Activision from awarding
additional compensation to (Infinity Ward) team members as a reward for
the success of (Infinity Ward-developed games, in order to make these
employees easier to poach when West and Zampella executed their plans
to leave the company and set up their own company.”

The suit also claims that the pair delayed
pre-production on “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,” which Activision
likely hopes to release in late 2011.

An attorney for West and Zampella and a CAA
spokeswoman said they had not yet seen the Activision filing and
declined to comment.

So far, Wall Street has taken little to no notice of Activision’s legal drama. The company’s shares have steadily risen since March 1, when West and Zampella were fired.

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