A couple days later... time for a new dick move from Acitivision!

[Xizer]

In what seems to be a daily occurrence for Activision, the world's worst gaming company brings to you another heartwarming tale:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6252657.html

TL;DR Activision just cleaned house and fired the heads of Infinity Ward. You know, the guys who just developed Modern Warfare 2 for them and made them a buttload of money.

Activision is no stranger to firing their employees: usually after they've just finished completing a big project for them, Activision will fire entire teams of people.

[crayauchtin]

This smells like exactly what they did to the Diablo staff.

[banjo_oz]

So we're seriously supposed to expect reason from a company that fires the devs of their most successful game ever?

In any case, thanks Activision! I really enjoyed MW2 (to my surprise), and was worried if I had to boycott them, I'd miss out on Infinity Ward's future games. Now they won't be part of 'em, so I don't have to worry!

Oh, and I loved this quote from Tim Schafer:

"Getting mad at Activision for this kind of thing is like getting mad at an ape for throwing feces," said Schafer. "It's just how the beast communicates."

[MangoMercury]

Tim Schafer is a comedy genius.  Activision really does suck a heck of a lot.

[waltzdancing]

Maybe there is just confusion in the upper levers?

[crayauchtin]

Confusion? Oh no -- this is coming from the company who's CEO said he *wanted* to take the fun out of making video games. What better way to do that than to fire people when they finish a project?

[Haids1987]

How sad.  Those poor people, and their families...

[Bad Asp]

Oh, about those people who were fired from Infinity Ward?  I hear they're filing a lawsuit against Activision over unpaid royalties.

(And given how Activision has been acting recently, I don't blame 'em.)

I hope the court declares Activision guilty and pays Jason West and Vince Zampella every penny they are owed!

[Tage7]

They also filed for the rights to the Modern Warfare title. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-04/activision-sued-by-sacked-call-of-duty-creators-update1-.html

[KatieHal]

They are suing indeed!

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jason-west-and-vince-zampella-file-lawsuit-against-activision-86295312.html

[Oldbushie]

Ugh... they terminated them weeks before royalties were to be distributed? That's insane! I think certain higher ups in Activision are completely addled in the head.

[crayauchtin]

I said it today on some forum I was on (escapist?) -- I know rocks with more active brain cells!

[Oldbushie]

Further details: http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/03/04/the-activision-lawsuit-what-it-means-and-where-it-s-going.aspx

Some people think that the two game developers were starting to look for a potential escape route by asking around at other interested companies, and that Activision perceived it as a threat and decided to go for the jugular. However, Activision hasn't come out and said exactly why they fired the two developers to their faces yet.

[crayauchtin]

I saw some mention of "insubordination", which I guess looking into other companies might be considered insubordination. Still, firing people *right* before their royalty check is due is not going to look good in court