Although the infamous incident occurred nearly a decade and a half ago, a former employee shared interesting details about the days after the studio's founders were fired.
Paul Sandler is currently the chief designer of NetEase, but at the time of the incident he was still reinforcing the Infinity Ward team. the computer games He noted that he had just published an article On LinkedIn“That Day That Activision Fired Jason and Vince” (The Day Activision Fired Jason and Vince).
A brief reminder: In March 2010, Infinity Ward co-founders Vince Zampella and Jason West left the studio accompanied by security, allegedly for breach of contract. The incident occurred a few months after Activision released the hugely successful Modern Warfare 2.
Of course, those involved were sued both ways, but in the end it turned out that the accusations were justified, as West and Zampella actually negotiated with EA behind Activision's back. Soon after, they founded the studio Respawn Entertainment, which was joined by a good number of Infinity Ward developers, and was later purchased by EA.
Although the entire article is particularly interesting, it is worth reading if you understand English. However, it might be worth highlighting the details of how Activision is trying to retain workers. Based on Sandler's description, the mood was visibly depressed. On behalf of Activision, there were several bosses who tried to explain what happened, but of course no one was interested. Finally, one of the developers asked if they could expect rewards for MW2, and the response came back: “Guys, if you stay here and participate in Modern Warfare 3, you will get the rewards as well as a 50% increase.”
“I know it's tough, but take the money and get through it!” When there was no reaction to his offer, the leader continued. Since then, we know that promises didn't work out for everyone, as after West and Zampella were fired, 40% of the roughly 100-person studio left Activision, splitting up one of the most successful development teams of the era.
