A judge's ruling against publishing giant Activision has allowed former Infinity Ward developers Jason West and Vincent Zampella to take their lawsuit against the company even further. They originally filed a lawsuit against the company in March 2010.
The duo allege that Activision fired them shortly before it was supposed to make significant royalty payments to them—amounting to $125 million—and had been stringing them along release after release. The publisher had also promised them total autonomy and creative authority, which it subsequently reneged on.
Despite their ability to bring over $1 billion in revenue with the Call of Duty titles they developed, Activision claims that it sacked them for breaches of contract, insubordination and violation of company policy. Activision lawyers accused the pair of being "self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack Activision's assets for personal gain."
Activision has also brought a lawsuit against the duo's new employer, Electronic Arts, saying that the rival had urged the duo to leave Activision to come work for them. Activision seeks $400 million in damages, claiming tortious interference, unfair competition and breaches of fiduciary duty.
Both lawsuits will reach trial later this year, or early next year.