While interest in the Call of Duty franchise remains high, many of the developers that worked on the original games have since left Activision. Many former members of Infinity Ward, the studio that worked on the incredibly successful Modern Warfare games, are heading to court over unpaid bonuses for the two games.

Activision has already paid $42 million to former members of Infinity Ward, but there's a lot more at stake. Ultimately, what caused the huge rift between Infinity Ward execs Jason West and Vince Zampella and Activision? The two say that the team's desire to work on a game other than Modern Warfare 3 made an already tense relationship even worse.

Read more: Activision sacrificed new IP for more Call of Duty »

The legal battle between Activision and Infinity Ward is coming to a head, and newly released court documents are giving us a better look at Activision's internal dialogue in the days leading up to firing Jason West and Vince Zampella. The e-mails range from frustrations, to plans of how to keep projects and teams on-track without the known leadership.

Read more: 'Is everyone ready for the big, negative PR story?' »

Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts have reached a settlement in a lawsuit surrounding the firing of Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella. EA had been accused of conspiring with the pair to leave Activision form an independent studio. Neither party has disclosed the terms of the settlement, but they will reportedly ask the court to dismiss the claims.

"Activision and Electronic Arts have decided to put this matter behind them," said Activision lawyer Beth Wilkinson.

Read more: Activision allegedly tried to 'dig up dirt' on West and Zampella »

GameFly is running a huge digital sale this weekend, including some of the most popular franchises from the biggest publishers. Missed out on the original Mass Effect or the Call of Duty: Modern Warfares? Now's your chance to try them out at a huge discount.

Read more: As much as 70 percent off »

In a surprising move today, Infinity Ward creative chief Robert Bowling announced that he was resigning from his post on the Call of Duty franchise and leaving Activision. No explanation was given on what he had planned or where he was going.

"Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist of Call of Duty, as a lead of Infinity Ward, and as an employee of Activision," he tweeted to his 367K followers.

Read more: Activision responds »

A California State Superior Court judge has dismissed one of the two fraud claims raised by former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, in their suit against Activision. The two alleged that Activision had made commitments that the company executives never intended to honor.

Read more: Promissory fraud still standing »

The big "he said, the monolithic corporation said" video games kerfuffle of 2010, the fallout from Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vincent Zampella leaving Activision to sign up with Electronic Arts, is indeed going to trial. On Wednesday, a California Superior Court judge denied EA's motion for summary judgement on the complex lawsuit, as well as one from West and Zampella, meaning the big Call of Duty mess will go before a jury next year.

Read more: Call of Duty kerfuffle to continue »

After a full week of Xbox Live activity tracking, EA's Battlefield 3 has climbed to second place, snuggled between two titles in the Call of Duty franchise for the week of October 31. Topping the list is Call of Duty: Black Ops, which Activision called "the [number one] best-selling title in dollars in aggregate across all platforms in the U.S. and Europe for each of the first three quarters of 2011," in its fiscal third quarter report.

During its investor relations call yesterday, Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg noted that "remarkably" Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 remained the top titles "before, during, and after" the launch of its "competitor's products." Despite it only being tracked for five of seven days on Xbox Live following its October 25 launch, Battlefield 3 debuted at third on the Xbox Live Activity List, provided by Xbox Live's director of programming Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb.

Read more: Four Call of Duty titles in the Top 20 »

For the first time in franchise history, two games under the Call of Duty banner--Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2--will be simultaneously allowing players to earn double the normal experience points this weekend. It's being billed as a celebration of the upcoming Modern Warfare 3's Prestige Shop, but it's safe to say that publisher Activision wouldn't be too upset if the move steals some thunder from a certain other rival war-based FPS that launched today.

Read more: about becoming prestigious »

A court date for Jason West and Vincent Zampella's claim against publisher Activision back in 2010 has finally been set. On May 7, 2012, proceedings will begin to determine whether or not Activision owes the Infinity Ward co-founders significant funds resulting from the sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In the suit, West and Zampella allege fraud on Activision's part, and that their former employer owes them somewhere in the neighborhood of $125 million in royalties.

Read more: West and Zampella's day in court »

During its investor relations call, Activision Blizzard reiterated that Call of Duty continues to set new benchmarks for sales. Though we're already aware that Call of Duty: Black Ops stands as the industry's "best selling game of all time" in terms of dollars, it was unclear where the game stood in terms of units sold.

Read more: How many units has Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 sold? »

If you were thrilled when Activision announced the Call of Duty XP convention (in spite of the crushing torrent of negativity that is The Internet), you'll be secretly delighted to hear that the $150 two-day passes will go on sale on next Tuesday. (Shh! Be careful you don't crack a smile, or They'll know.)

The convention's festivities will include playable Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, paintball on a recreation of Modern Warfare 2 map 'Scrapyard,' developer panels, and a real-life version of MW2's 'The Pit' training time trial.

Read more »

Former Infinity Ward members Jason Ward and Vince Zampella have been given permission to go forward with their lawsuit against Activision. Hollywood Reporter gives word that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved a trial detailing the controversy surrounding the release of Modern Warfare 2. This doesn't mean a ruling in their favor, however; merely that the case has enough merit to go to court. The trial is likely to begin later this year or early next year.

This is just the latest bit of drama surrounding the case. Activision filed a counter-suit against West and Zampella, then added EA to the suit to the tune of $400 million, alleging that the company was complicit. This claim was later supported by incriminating e-mails, which EA spokespersons shrugged off as a joke. More recently, West and Zampella added fraud charges for assurances of creative control and job security. Read more »

According to the Xbox.com support site, some users are experiencing issues with the redemption of download codes (or vouchers) purchased at GameStop for the most recent Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack. Read more »

Guitar Hero III is the best selling video game of the "current generation," according to market research firm NPD Group's retail-only data. The top-ten games are revealed over on CNBC.

• 1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Read more »