After being fired from their positions at Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward early last year, Jason West and Vince Zampella filed a lawsuit against Activision for wrongful termination. They were allegedly let go for insubordination, among other things, but the two claim Activision was scheduled to pay them “substantial” royalties shortly after they were fired. Activision has its own lawsuit that describes the duo as “self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack Activision’s assets for their own personal gain.” EA was later added to Activision’s complaint, calling the rival publisher a “co-conspirator.”
A California judge allowed Activision’s lawsuit to continue in March, and the same happened this week with the lawsuit against Activision. The Hollywood Reporter reports a Los Angeles Superior Court judge made the decision on Tuesday deeming that West and Zampella have “sufficient claims against Activision.” This means the case is likely to go to trial at some point, although that probably won’t happen for at least several more months. There’s also the possibility of a settlement being reached before that can ever happen.
West and Zampella’s attorney, Robert Schwartz, told USA Today, “That can’t be good for Activision. They can’t be happy about this.”
