The infamous firing of Call of Duty creators, Jason West and Vince Zampella, from Infinity Ward in 2009 stunned not just the gaming world, but also the team that created it. The pair, accused of insubordination, were let go from parent company Activision and subsequently set up their own company, Respawn Entertainment. Following the firings, roughly 40% of the Infinity Ward team left the studio with several joining Respawn. Former Infinity Ward designer Paul Sandler has shared his thoughts, calling it one of the most tumultuous and volatile events he can remember.
Security guards blocked West and Zampella from returning to the studio, leaving the team in “a collective feeling of anger and a deep sense of unfairness”. In an article called “That day when Activision fired Jason and Vince” on LinkedIn, Sandler outlined the ramifications of the incident, stating the action brought the entire team together. Many developers even spoke about leaving as a show of solidarity.
Activision tried to stop the team from quitting by offering them a 50% pay increase and their bonuses after the shipment of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This however, only served to further anger and upset the team. Sandler explained, employees began to leave one by one in the coming days and weeks.
While West and Zampella went on to found Respawn Entertainment, several other members of their former team left to work on other projects, including Apex Legends and Titanfall. Sandler himself was inspired by the incident to write short articles about his 20+ years working in video game development.
In other gaming news, Capcom has released a survey to gauge interest in a number of remakes and sequels for its iconic franchises
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