Activision's allegations "lose sight of the reality", says West and Zampell counsel
Robert M. Schwartz, the attorney representing former Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella, has said that Activision's countersuit against the duo along with the "false allegations" claimed by the company are "inaccurate and misguided".
Speaking with Kotaku after yesterday's reveal of the countersuit papers by IGN, Schwartz says it all comes down to Activision not wanted to fork over the millions earned by Infinity Ward.
"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," he said.
"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."
Yesterday, it was revealed that Activision had filed a counter-suit against West and Zampella, claiming that they had been courting other publishers, had hired a liaison to do the work for them, and were nothing more than "insubordinate and self-serving schemers".
An email was revealed containing what Activision believes to be secret correspondence regarding a coup, and claims that West and Zampella became greedy, taking more of the bonus pool than they earned.
Currently, the two are suing Activision for over $36 million as well as rights to the Modern Warfare franchise.
Activision's filed for unspecified damages and the return of bonuses paid out to the former Infinity Ward heads.
Look for this to get much uglier than it already is at the moment.
Thanks, Develop.