Just over a month ago the two Infinity Ward studio heads were kicked out due to “insubordination” and breach of contracts. Just a few days following their departure, Jason West and Vincent Zampella filed a lawsuit against Activision for being fired unlawfully and have sought unpaid royalties and the acquisition of the Modern Warfare license that they created.

After the break you will find a detailed breakdown of the events that have followed and a list of Infinity Ward members who have since resigned from their positions.

Well it looks like this “war” between former Infinity Ward executives, West and Zampella, and Activision is finally heating up. Today Activision has filed a countersuit against the two former IW co-founders claiming that their firing of the two was justified. In the suit it is mentioned that the two “attempted to hijack Activision's assets for their own personal gain and whose actions threatened both the future of the call of Duty franchise and the future of Activsion's Infinity Ward studio.”

To add more fuel to the fire, Activision claims that West and Zampella were acting against other employees as they attempted to prevent the royalties and bonuses from being paid to other IW members. Activision claims that they attempted this in order to make the IW employees “easier to poach” for a new studio. The allegations from both sides are damaging and frankly I don’t know what to think anymore.

Activision Countersues Former Infinity Ward Execs [IGN]

Further details have been brought forth in regards to the lawsuit filed last night by Jason West and Vince Zampella against Activision. According to Bloomberg, the two former executives from Infinity Ward are seeking at least $36 million in addition to control over the Modern Warfare brand (note: not Call of Duty brand). Activision has also offered an official statement regarding the lawsuit against them which basically stated "Without us, Infinity Ward would not have become as successful as it is today". You can read the full statement after the break.

In an article over at Gamer/Law they explain the potential explosive nature of this lawsuit and what it means for us, the consumers. If the lawsuit is declared in favor of the two former execs, they would be able to veto any Modern Warfare-related content, including DLC and any upcoming new releases in the series.

Activision Sued by Sacked ‘Call of Duty’ Creators [Bloomberg]

[Updated - Sledgehammer Games's  COD title is not the 2011 title mentioned in the press release. The 2011 COD title is referring to yet another title not mentioned in the release and the developer of that title is unknown. However if history suggests anything it could be the MW2 successor, developed by Infinity Ward. Via: G4TV]

After the events of last night, today’s press release only confirms what we were fearing: a new direction for the Call of Duty series. In the press release Activision also confirmed that Jason West and Vince Zampella are “no longer with Infinity Ward”. However, that was only a portion of news, with Activision looking to push the franchise into new territory with Sledgehammer Games developing an action-adventure game based on the Call of Duty franchise which will be released in 2011.

Taking the place of the former Infinity Ward heads are two senior Activision members, Steve Ackrich and Steve Pearce who will lead IW on an “interim” basis. There has been no word as to why the West or Zampella were removed from their positions, but we wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. There was no indication of whether or not Infinity Ward would continue to work on the Call of Duty series.

You can catch all the juicy details after the break, including Activision’s view on DLC (hint: money maker):

Two weeks have passed since Activision released Modern Warfare 2 into the hands of desperate gamers, and with the record shattering launch, this news should come as no surprise. According to Activision, over $3 billion has been generated in revenue from the Call of Duty franchise alone.

Modern Warfare 2 itself earned over $550 million within its first five days alone, making it the most successful launch of all time, not just in gaming, but in entertainment history. That’s certainly an enormous achievement, and definitely played an important part in helping the franchise reach the $3 billion mark. Overall this comes from a total of 55 million Call of Duty titles that have been sold since 2003.

“If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history”; a bold, but likely true statement from Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick. If you were wondering where these figures came from, they were estimated using NPD along with internal company figures and an assortment of other tracking firms.

Not a week goes by without more news of Activison’s success, and it seems Modern Warfare 2 will be the gamers choice for some time to come. If you feel like a game, why not introduce yourself on the forums and gather some players?

In what we can only call shocking, Infinity Ward head Vince Zampella revealed to the Official PlayStation Magazine that publisher Activision was originally opposed to the idea of moving the Call of Duty outside World War II. For its part, the mighty Acti thought such a move was a huge creative risk at the time, going by internal marketing research, and instead wanted to play it safe by taking the rehash route and churn out more of the same.

In what we can only call shocking, Infinity Ward head Vince Zampella revealed to the Official PlayStation Magazine that publisher Activision was originally opposed to the idea of moving the Call of Duty outside World War II. For its part, the mighty Acti thought such a move was a huge risk at the time, going by internal marketing research, and instead wanted to play it safe by taking the rehash route and churn out more of the same.

Wow. It goes without saying, sometimes risks pay off big, and this is undeniable proof. Good thing Infinity Ward stuck to its guns.

Activision “didn’t want Modern Warfare” [CVG]

Activision Was Opposed To Taking Call of Duty Outside World War II - [eXophase.com]

It looks as if Activision is sticking to its “leapfrog” development strategy for the Call of Duty franchise once more, as the LinkedIn profile page for Treyarch senior animator David Kim has revealed that plans to develop a seventh title are already underway. A block of text straight from said page reads the following:

I am currently on my second title as a senior animator in the games industry with Activision / Treyarch on Call Of Duty 7.

Given the success of World at War, this development is far from surprising. Of course, details on the title are nonexistent and will no doubt remain so for awhile, considering Modern Warfare 2 has yet to ship. Heck, we’re still waiting for a proper look at Infinity Ward’s latest effort. However, that likely won’t be very far off with E3 right around the corner.

Call of Duty 7 Under Development at Treyarch [ShackNews]

In a recent twitter update, Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling name dropped Modern Warfare 2, ostensibly confirming the studio’s involvement in the next Call of Duty title.

Reviewing some radio-chatter VO we just finished recording for Modern Warfare 2 today. “Cujo Two-One this is Vulture, solid copy on all.”

Course, no formal announcement has been made yet, but this is coming from Bowling and quite frankly, that’s good enough for us. Let the wait commence.

Twitter / fourzerotwo [Twitter]