Call of Duty Veterans Join Respawn Entertainment

At least seven former members of Call of Duty creator Infinity Ward have now joined the studio's fired founders at their new venture Respawn Entertainment, G4TV reports.

Lead designers Mackey McCandlish and Todd Alderman, lead animators Mark Grisby and John Paul Messerly, lead environmental artist Chris Cherubini, and programmers Jon Shiring and Rayme Vinson have all joined Respawn, taking the same roles.

Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Respawn Entertainment was formed earlier this month by Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella, who were dramatically fired by studio owner Activision in March. The pair soon sued Activision for allegedly unpaid royalties as well as control of the Modern Warfare brand. Activision dismissed the claims as "meritless" and promptly counter-sued, alleging that the pair had attempted to "steal" Infinity Ward.

Activision is currently restructuring the studio after

Respawn's seven new hires and at least six others quit. It seems that their bonuses will be shared amongst all remaining.

"I'm confused, because by leaving, they are giving up their bonus--and the more people that leave, the bigger the bonus gets for the people who stay," 1up spotted Activision social media manager Dan Amrich writing after boldly wading into the hostile waters of Facebook's 'Gamers against Bobby Kotick & Activision' group.

There's still no word on what Respawn has planned, though it's a fair bet the game will involve shooting people in their faces during a period some time after September 1, 1939. The studio has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing scheme with Activision's rival Electronic Arts through its EA Partners scheme.