Vince Zampella and Jason West, the former heads of Activision's Infinity Ward development studio, have formally left the company and signed on with Respawn Entertainment. Respawn is a subsidiary of Activision's chief rival, Electronic Arts.
Gaming news site Kotaku reports that the two already have big plans, fresh from the debut of blockbuster Modern Warfare 2, which lit up flat-screen monitors, gaming screens, and compatible HDMI projectors across North America late last year and garnered rave reviews. However, another Modern Warfare game is said not to be in the works from Zampella and West.
Kotaku says that the two have been exchanging public insults and lawsuits with Activision for some time now over intellectual property issues. The deal that their new studio - Respawn Entertainment - signed with EA grants the gaming giant sole publishing rights, but confers no editorial control over the games themselves, which Zampella and West say offers them more independence while maintaining a mass-market outlet for their creations.
The move could prove to be an influential one, as the next-gen shooter market heats up with the pending release of Crysis 2 this holiday season.
