Publishing giant Activision has been slapped with a class action lawsuit brought forth by Infinity Ward employees and ex-employees, calling for an upwards of $500 million in unpaid royalties and punitive damages. A total of 38 plaintiffs are involved in the suit, collectively referring to themselves as the “Infinity Ward Employee Group.”

The suit alleges that Activision purposely withheld royalties “in an attempt to force employees of Infinity Ward to continue to work at a job that many of them did not want just so Activision could force them to complete the development, production and delivery of Modern Warfare 3.”

Specifically, the suit seeks to recover between $75 million and $125 million in compensatory damages. That comes on top of $75 million to $500 million in punitive damages, bringing the grand total of damages and entitled bonuses sought to over half a billion. That figure, of course, represents a best and worst case scenario for the plaintiffs and Activision respectively.

The friction between the two parties is intensifying. It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds.

38 Infinity Ward Employees File Lawsuit Against Activision Over Royalties, Alleges Devs Held “Hostage” [G4TV]

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