Infinity Ward v/s Activision: A War Has Begun

Infinity Ward, located in Encino, California, is an American video game developer founded in 2002 by 22 former employees of 2015, Inc., including the project leads who had worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. The company was acquired by Activision in October 2003 and consists of approximately 70 employees as of May 2010. Infinity Ward is responsible for the development of the breathtaking Call of Duty series.

Activision (ATVI) is an American video game developer and publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world’s first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles. Its first products were cartridges for the Atari 2600 video game.

WAR BETWEEN INFINTIY WARD AND ACTIVISION

The fallout between Infinity Ward and Activision has taken yet another dramatic turn, as a large number of Infinity Ward employees, both current and former; have filed a class-action lawsuit against the publisher for between $75 million and $125 million in unpaid bonuses.

According to the report, Activision has paid $28 million in royalties so far, but still owes $54 million for 2009, as well as other bonuses based on the first quarter of 2010. The group is also seeking $75 million to $500 million in punitive damages.

Up until now, a total of 26 employees have left Infinity Ward, which means that at least 12 members of the Employee Group are still with the studio.

Activision spokesman Dan Amrich said that employees who leave the studio would be giving up their bonus, and that “the more people that leave, the bigger the bonus gets for the people who stay”.

Now it is very doubtful to say whether we are going to get CALL OF DUTY 7 as their last edition or the batlle is going to settle down after its release.
(Image Via: mw2blog)