Zampella and West join EA, create Respawn Entertainment

**Slacker Hero** 12th April 2010, 7:41 pm

After a month of legal drama between Jason West, Vince Zampella and their former corporate overlords at Activision, the predictable has occurred. Announced in a press release today, West and Zampella have formed a new studio, Respawn Entertainment, and have established an exclusive publishing partnership with chief Activision rival, Electronic Arts.

I mean, really, we all saw this coming, right?

"Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me," said Vince Zampella in the release, followed by the traditionally positive statements which publicly accompany all new relationships.

It'll be interesting, with all of this hub-bub, to see how active the new company is in poaching talent from Infinity Ward. No projects have been announced, as they're really just starting to get the team together. How much do you want to bet that they make a military-themed shooter?

You can read the full release after the fold.

LOS ANGELES, Apr 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today, Jason West and Vince Zampella, creators of the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty(R) franchise, announced the formation of a new development studio -- Respawn Entertainment. The move positions the Respawn Entertainment leadership team as the owners of the intellectual property they create. The company will focus on creating state-of-the-art gaming experiences for global audiences. The studio is currently assembling a world-class team of designers, artists and engineers. Applicants can submit resumes to jobs@respawn.com.

Respawn is pleased to also announce that it has awarded Electronic Arts (ERTS 19.49, +0.13, +0.65%) , through the distinguished EA Partners program, exclusive worldwide publishing and distribution rights to future games. Terms were not disclosed. West and Zampella are represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

"Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me," said Vince Zampella, General Manager of Respawn Entertainment. "For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We're very proud of what we built -- and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again -- open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA."

"We're excited," added Jason West, President of Respawn Entertainment. "Now that the team is in control of the games and brands, we can ensure that the fans are treated as well as they deserve."

Frank Gibeau, President of the EA Games Label commented, "This is the start of a great publishing partnership -- one that I expect will develop blockbuster game franchises. Jason and Vince are two of the top creative leaders in the entertainment industry. At EA, we're honored to be their partners and to give them the support they need to hire a team and return to making incredible games."

Huge news, imo. This sets the stage for epic for an epic EA vs. Activision rivalry aka Evil vs Greater Evil.

**DeadApe** 13th April 2010, 8:40 am

hahha evil vs greater evil.

Yea according to activision this was West and Zampellas plan the entire time, and they purposely did not except bonuses in pay for the infinity ward team so they could sucker them into joining the new team with EA.

**DeadApe** 14th April 2010, 7:17 pm

5 or 6 other staff members leave Infinity Ward.

Taken from IGN
Developer Infinity Ward has lost additional team members today.

Long-time programmer Jon Shiring confirmed to IGN he has resigned from his position at the studio. Shiring made his initial announcement through his Twitter account. Shiring did not give a reason for his resignation or where he'll end up next.

"I'm not trying to create spectacle, I just wanted to avoid the LinkedIn nonsense," he told IGN. "No announcements other than that one." Shiring spent close to six years at Infinity Ward, working on both Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.

Senior Animator Bruce Ferriz confirmed to IGN he, too, left the studio this month and has now joined Santa Monica-based developer Big Red Button Entertainment. He is currently working on an unannounced project. Ferriz spent just over one year at Infinity Ward.

Lastly, Modern Warfare 2 lead designer Mackey McCandlish has also left Infinity Ward. McCandlish had been with the studio since 2002. McCandlish confirmed his departure on his Twitter account.

Earlier this month, Infinity Ward veterans Todd Alderman and Francesco Gigliotti also revealed through LinkedIn the two had left the studio.

In March, Infinity Ward co-founders Vince Zampella and Jason West were fired by publisher Activision. The two announced this morning plans to open a new studio called Respawn Entertainment and signed a new publishing deal with rival Electronic Arts.

Update: Additional Infinity Ward employees have now left the studio. Lead Designers Steve Fukuda and Zied Reike are no longer employees, Kotaku reports. Programmer Rayme Vinson and lead artist Chris Cherubini have also now left. Cherubini confirmed he has resigned from his position.

The COD franchise is going to lose a lot next time around. Activision is going to try to fill these spots with their own team members just as they did to West and Zampella.

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