Respawn Entertainment has said it will be showing off its first game at E3, but has played things pretty tight about specifics, except for recently trademarking the name Titan. However, new information suggests a mech game that may be exclusive to the next Xbox.
Respawn Entertainment has continued to be cryptic about what its next game will be, teasing blurry images and a promised presence at this year's E3. While not much more has been revealed about the sci-fi shooter, Respawn has possibly given us a name: Titan.
Jason West, co-creator of the Call of Duty series and co-founder of Respawn Entertainment, has left the company. According to partner Vince Zampella, West left the studio because of family reasons, but did not indicate exactly when the he stepped down.
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 »
Respawn Entertainment, the new EA-funded studio from former Call of Duty and Modern Warfare co-creators Jason West and Vince Zampella, has revamped the company's official website. The updated site provides an incredibly cryptic tease of the team's debut game, which can be seen above. The team's first game is supposedly a sci-fi shooter. However, not much can be discerned from the screenshot.
More revealing is the website's staff listing. Six staffers on the team appear to have come from Sony's God of War team. However, the majority of the team is comprised of former colleagues at Infinity Ward. In fact, 40 members of the original team have made the transition to Zampella and West's new studio. It appears that many are remaining loyal to the former heads of Infinity Ward, even in light of ongoing litigation between Activision and the duo over unpaid royalties for Modern Warfare 2. When the initial departures were first announced, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said, "we are obviously disappointed about this, and we wish we could have convinced some of these incredibly talented people to stay." Read more »
After the public falling out with Activision, Jason West and Vince Zampella almost signed to make its next game with THQ. THQ vice president Danny Bilson told Wired about the deal-that-almost-was at a recent game event.
"We were one deal point away from signing [Respawn]," he said. "I saw [West and Zampella] recently, and they said it was that only one deal point, one that I wouldn't cave on." Apparently the one point was the intellectual property. THQ was looking to build its IP library, and the newly formed Respawn refused to give up ownership of it. Read more »
The legal battle between Activision and Jason West and Vince Zampella has taken an unusual twist. In new court documents filed this week, the video games giant accuses the pair of conspiring with rival company Electronic Arts to sabotage Infinity Ward as well as fellow Call of Duty series developer Treyarch and the brand.
First, a quick summary of events so far: West and Zampella, who co-founded of Call of Duty creator Infinity Ward before it was bought by Activision, were fired in March under mysterious circumstances; West and Zampella sued for unpaid royalties and brand rights; Activision scoffed. With us so far? Excellent. Read more »
The QuakeCon 2010 panels and special presentations schedule has been unveiled, revealing a whole host of talks on top topics with special guests including Jason West, Vince Zampella, Harvey Smith and Richard Garriott as well as Bethesda folks.
Ultima creator and wronged spaceman Richard 'Lord British' Garriott will join id Software's own rocketman John Carmack on a panel getting all giddy about space travel. West and Zampella, ousted co-founders of Call of Duty creator Infinity Ward and founders of Respawn Entertainment, will discuss "building blockbusters." Deus Ex lead designer Smith will join a panel titled 'Building Immersive Worlds and Stories.' Read more »
The Infinity Ward drama thickens, once again. The LA Times reports that 38 current and ex-Infinity Ward staff members, have filed a suit against Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 publisher Activision claiming that the employees are owed between $78 and $125 million in royalties in addition to potential damages.
Kotaku brings word of four more resignations at Modern Warfare 2 studio Infinity Ward, which has already lost most of its lead developers. The new departures are:
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. Read more »
"We treat our developers extremely well," Activision chief operating officer Thomas Tippl has told the Los Angeles Times in the wake of numerous key personnel quitting Call of Duty creator Infinity Ward, which the video games leviathan owns.
Two more leads have departed from Infinity Ward today, Kotaku reports. Yesterday, four more departures were confirmed and today Mark Grigsby (lead animator) and Paul Messerly (lead character animator) have resigned.
Mark Grigsby also voiced the Seargent Griggs character in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and rapped over the game's credits (audio NSFW). Read more »
Earlier this morning, we learned that two more high-ranking developers at Modern Warfare 2 studio Infinity Ward had quit. Kotaku now reports that as many as four additional employees have resigned.
The departures have been suspected following the firing of studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, who officially announced their new studio Respawn Entertainment on Monday. Respawn is signed to an exclusive publishing deal with the Electronic Arts Partners program, which allows a studio to retain control of its intellectual property. Read more »
Following this morning's announcement of Jason West and Vince Zampella--formerly of Call of Duty series creator Infinity Ward--founding a new development studio dubbed Respawn Entertainment, IW owner Activision has issued a strong response:
This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against Jason West and Vince Zampella. We look forward to continuing to work with Infinity Ward's deep bench of proven talent on exciting new projects.Read more »
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