Ex Infinity Ward studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella are still in active litigation with Activision Blizzard, but they’ve already formed a new development studio called Respawn Entertainment, IndustryGamers {link no longer active} has reported. And in what could be a big blow to Activision potentially, Respawn has an exclusive publishing agreement with rival Electronic Arts.
In a separate interview {link no longer active} with IndustryGamers, Jason West commented, “What it came down to was we wanted someone who would respect our independence and our culture, let us own the IP and put us in a position to maximize our success, so we can have a great team and control the brands and franchises that we want to make.”
West and Zampella built up the Call of Duty brand, and now they have the opportunity to start from scratch with the help of EA. West and Zampella certainly have the talent to craft an incredible gaming experience and EA has fantastic marketing resources, so this should be worth keeping an eye on.
