LogInAfter what happened, 40 developers left the studio in solidarity.
Image credit: Activision, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
The Infinity Ward split is one of the most notorious scandals in the game industry. It all started back in 2009 when Vince Zampella and Jason West negotiated a new deal with Activision, which granted them creative control over the Call of Duty franchise. However, Activision had a condition: if Zampella and West were gone, the rights to Call of Duty would remain with the company.
Later, as you all perfectly know, the two Infinity Ward Co-Founders were fired for alleged "insubordination." While the scandal's history has been well-documented, in early February, former Infinity Ward developer Paul Sandler shed light on how the events unfolded from the perspective of other employees.
"The fact that our respected studio heads, our leaders, had been canned in such a sudden and cold-blooded fashion brought the entire team a collective feeling of anger and a deep sense of unfairness," said Paul.
He also wrote that many developers wanted to support the fired Co-Founders and show a gesture of solidarity by leaving Infinity Ward. Of course, Activision saw that and tried to prevent the development of Modern Warfare 3 from failing.
"There was an emergency company meeting in the kitchen space. A group of top Activision high-ups were already at the studio, ready to steady the ship," continued Sandler. "The Infinity Ward team piled into the kitchen and glared at the group of executives standing behind the long kitchen island table. One of them tried explaining what was happening, which nobody on the development team bought or cared for. The response was mostly stoic silence."
Image credit: Paul Sandler
The thing that struck me the most is how Activision's high-ups tried to buy the team and their loyalty by offering them to keep their Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 bonuses, only if they stayed, and raising their salary to 50%. When it seemed that nothing worked, execs just said the following.
"Look, I get it. I know this is a tough situation. But, just take the money and get over it."
In the end, as Sandler continued, 40 out of 100 people left Infinity Ward in solidarity; a significant number of them joined Respawn, an independent studio established by Vince Zampella with the backing of EA.
As for now, Respawn is owned by EA, and Zampella himself holds a prominent position within the company, overseeing the ongoing development of the Battlefield franchise.
Speaking of Activision Blizzard, recently Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 received harsh criticism over the rushed development. If you want to learn more, make sure to check out this article.
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