Infinity Ward Departure Count To Eclipse 35, Says Kotick

by Mike Bendel May 6, 2010 @ 6:20 pm


Activision Blizzard head-honcho Bobby Kotick confirmed today that the official count of Infinity Ward departures has hit 35, further noting that more are expected to part ways with the studio. Several of those involved in the exodus have already moved to Respawn Entertainment, the EA-sponsored venture formed by IW co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella.

In a conference call held earlier today, Kotick said the company took a righteous stance when terminating West and Zampella for alleged breach of contract. Although Kotick still considers the duo as “friends,” he labeled their supposed backhand conduct as a “compromise [of] friendship.”

The decision to terminate the two Infinity Ward executives was not done lightly, and it was not done to deprive them of their bonuses nor is it done without a great deal of deliberation about the consequences.

I personally consider the two of them friends, and their conduct was a compromise of our friendship, which was equally disappointing. Once we began to understand what had occurred, there was no grey area. There was nothing to allow us to retain their services as talented as they might have been.

Despite losing employees left and right, Infinity Ward marches on, seemingly unfazed. A second map pack for Modern Warfare 2 is due out in the latter half of this year.

Follow this author on .