Topic: Games Industry Death Watch 2010-present

[D_Average]

The IW v Acti scandal seems like I should be more interesting, but I just can't get into it.  I think GertsmannGate was far more entertaining.   Just sayin.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Infinity  Ward Exodus Continues -- Three More Leave Studio, Two Join Respawn

Lead character artist Joel Emslie and artists Ryan Lastimosa and Brad Allen are the latest employees at Infinity Ward to hang up their hats and leave the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer.

All three now-former employees have updated their Facebook profiles to reflect the recent decision, a source close to Infinity Ward has told me. None have announced their future development plans.

Two others, however, have made a future with their former bosses at Respawn Entertainment official.

Emslie, Lastimosa and Allen's departures arrive just days after a total of eight other Infinity Ward developers turned in letters of resignation. In just a few days, the headcount at the Activision-owned studio has decreased by 11. So far, as predicted by Activision, the pace does not seem to be slowing.

Several employees have made the decision to join up with their former Infinity Ward leadership at Respawn Entertainment, an Electronic Arts-backed new startup. Unlike Infinity Ward, however, Respawn Entertainment controls their intellectual property; EA is only providing the funding.

[Chozo Ghost]

TJ, it looks like IW is dropping like flies and they are all going over to the new company. You make it sound like it was just one or two individuals being greedy and selfish and wanting more money and were conspiring to stab Activision in the back. But more and more employees are leaving, so it makes me think conditions must have been pretty bad for so many to leave like that.

It wasn't one or two people being greedy assholes, it was Activision who were the assholes and the entire Infinity Ward crew seems to have had it.

[KDR_11k]

Activision ignored this new contract, stomped on the concept for the new IP, denied timely bonus payments(to pay the bonus from the interest earned?) and then fired the heads of the company for complaining about it.

We don't know if it was an actual contract or just an informal promise. Activision claims that West and Zampella were in talks with EA before they got fired (considering the quick hire that seems likely) and thus likely delayed payments because they knew the moment those bonuses were paid these guys were going to make a run for it. The charge on the firing is for "insubordination", negotiating with a competing company and refusing to obey the orders of the leadership. The negotiations combined with that promise about the MW name sound to me like IW was planning to defect to EA and take the MW name with them.

[SixthAngel]

Getting a new job or setting up a new studio is entirely expected.  It isn't fast, but the speed you would expect.  This didn't happen out of the blue so of course they had a plan if or when something happened.  They had obviously been in fights with Activision ever since they wanted to start their promised new IP and the bonuses didn't come on time.  I have a plan for what I will do if I lose my job and I'm getting along great with my employer why wouldn't they?
Also I'm fairly certain these two had headhunters calling them 5 minutes after they were fired.  They could probably have started working the next day.

The lawsuit itself benefits Activsion to such an absurd degree.  Most corporations would do almost anything to get back what Activision gave away. 36 million dollars is enough for most companies to want to screw someone over.  Add in their biggest license and suddenly you have a near guarrentee.  When you look at the history of Activision this seems like the decision they would make.

The fact is Activision fired two employees directly before they would have to pay them millions dollars for the work that they already completed at their company.  I don't understand taking Activisions side.  These two earned that money and their employer is trying not to pay them.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Activision ignored this new contract, stomped on the concept for the new IP, denied timely bonus payments(to pay the bonus from the interest earned?) and then fired the heads of the company for complaining about it.

We don't know if it was an actual contract or just an informal promise. Activision claims that West and Zampella were in talks with EA before they got fired (considering the quick hire that seems likely) and thus likely delayed payments because they knew the moment those bonuses were paid these guys were going to make a run for it. The charge on the firing is for "insubordination", negotiating with a competing company and refusing to obey the orders of the leadership. The negotiations combined with that promise about the MW name sound to me like IW was planning to defect to EA and take the MW name with them.

It was said to be a renegotiated contract before the start of MW2 to make MW2.
That renegotiated contract supposedly promised bonus payments, ownership of the Modern Warfare name (or atleast exclusive rights to using it) and the promise of being free to do a new IP when they were done with MW2.

Activision started paying out the bonuses just recently when the mass exodus started, and all this trouble didn't escalate until after the new IP was shot down and MW3 was beign forced upon them. The only think Activision gave them that was promised was exlcusive use of the MW name.

[ThePerm]

plus Activision needs to realize that Franchises have HOT moments and then they have warm moments, and even cold moments. MW3 is destined to not be well received because 1st we know what went on, 2nd not the same people, 3rd and if it was the same people their harts wouldn't be in it. Halo fever pitch is pretty much dead now(pretty much because of COD)

[BlackNMild2k1]

Activision sued for  up to $125 million by current, former Infinity Ward employees

Activision sued for up to $125 million by current, former Infinity  Ward employees
 
 Activision's Call of Duty-related headaches just leveled up.
 
 More than three dozen former and current employees of Infinity Ward, the  Encino-based development studio that made the hugely successful Call of  Duty: Modern Warfare video games for Activision Blizzard Inc., have  sued the publisher claiming that they are owed between $75 million and  $125 million in unpaid royalties and potentially more in compensatory  damages.
 
 ...
 
 Of the 38 employees involved in the lawsuit, 21 are former employees of  Infinity Ward;  17 still work there. Approximately 95 people worked at  Infinity Ward on last November's Modern Warfare 2, meaning that about  40% of its employees at that time are now suing Activision.
 
 ...
 
 The lawsuit says that Activision owes Infinity Ward employees a bonus  pool of at least $118 million, of which $82 million is supposed to go to  employees other than West and Zampella.
 
 It alleges that the publisher has withheld royalty payments in order to  keep them from leaving as their former bosses did, putting at risk the  potentially hugely lucrative release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3  planned for late 2011.
 
 "Activision engaged in this inappropriate course of conduct in an  attempt to force employees of Infinity Ward to continue to work at a job  that many of them did not want just so Activision could force them to  complete the development, production and delivery of Modern Warfare 3,"  the suit says.
 It goes on to allege that Activision representatives told Infinity Ward  employees that if West and Zampella had not been fired, the employees  would have received bonuses approximately 2.5 times higher than what  they were paid on March 26.
 
"Activision believes the action is without merit," a company spokesman said in response to the suit. "Activision retains the discretion to determine the amount and the schedule of bonus payments for [Modern Warfare 2] and has acted consistent with its rights and the law at all times. We look forward to getting judicial confirmation that our position is right."
 
 The complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court in Santa  Monica is based in part on the same allegations contained in West and  Zampella's suit. Isaacs has asked that the two cases be consolidated.
 
 -- Ben Fritz

Bobby.... chew softer or at least turn up the volume!!


I'm sorry Michael.... Mr. Crabs gave me crispy instead of original.

[TJ Spyke]

This whole situation is amusing to watch, both sides bickering at each other and calling the others liars. Since almost EVERY lawsuit involving companies involved counter-suits, I wouldn't be shocked if Activision Blizzard counter-sues.

I still side with Activision in this particular situation.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I think you are trippin' to side with Activision on this, but your opinion is yours.

If they had a bonus structure set up (some sort of profit sharing) and then they released the profitable 3rd party game ever ($1.3bln in revenue and counting), why not just give them their due and move onto the next project? Why break promises and agreements then try to milk a cash cow dry as quickly as possible?

Imagine how different(read: non-existent) Nintendo would be today had then licensed out and milked Mario to death right after firing Miyamoto so they could keep and control the property. That is exactly what it seems like Activision is trying to do here. Instead of building a lifelong franchise, nurture your talent and create more franchises that continue to give back, they just suck it dry and then move onto the next thing.

Activision is like the Galactus of Gaming. Destroyer of IP's & Devs.

[broodwars]

Unlike the other lawsuits in this fascinating Activision-Infinity Ward legal saga, I have to kind of side with Activision on this one pending any legal paperwork Activision execs may have signed with the remaining Infinity Ward employees.  I'm fine with the 17 who are still working at Infinity Ward getting the bonuses promised them, so if Activision was just promising bonuses it never intended to give, they should be entitled to those bonuses.  I'm not so sure those who are no longer working at Infinity Ward have a case, considering Activision was promising those bonuses to those who remained at Infinity Ward, and obviously they left of their own volition.  Once again, that's just my opinion until we see word of any paperwork Activision may have signed specifying exactly what they promised the Infinity Ward folks.

As for the fate of Modern Warfare 3, I think it's pretty obvious the quality of the game is in jeopardy unless Activision brings in some serious experienced help to shore up all the losses Infinity Ward's suffered since this debacle began.  Whether that would impact sales is another matter entirely: we know what's going on with Modern Warfare 3 and Infinity Ward because we're hardcore gaming enthusiasts and that's just what we do, but I have doubts the average gamers who bought Modern Warfare 2 in such large numbers are so aware of the situation.  I don't see this impacting the franchise much until after Modern Warfare 3 (or any of these Call of Duty spinoff projects) launches and the masses get a taste of just what's happened to the franchise.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Call of Duty is no more

we're now getting

Court of Duty:  Modern Lawyer

[BlackNMild2k1]

or alternatively

Court of Jury: Modern Lawfare

[TJ Spyke]

Part of my issue with West and Zampella is that they think they should get millions of dollars in bonuses and control of the "Modern Warfare" subtitle just to do their job. You brought up Shigeru Miyamoto, he would not need Nintendo to pay him millions of dollars just to do his job. If Activisio wanted Infinity Ward to make a Call of Duty game, their ONLY response should have been "When would you like it finished?".

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Sides aren't necessary in this issue.  Hope they destroy each other.

[TJ Spyke]

I still remember that it wasn't long ago that everyone hated Electronic Arts (but still bought their games), now everyone hates Activision Blizzard (but still buys their games).

[NWR_insanolord]

EA's gotten a lot better in recent years, and Activision is way worse than EA ever was.

[broodwars]

EA's gotten a lot better in recent years, and Activision is way worse than EA ever was.

Indeed.  EA's made great strides in recent years to develop and maintain new IPs, even if they aren't best sellers right out of the gate.  I doubt Activision would have given Dead Space or Mirror's Edge a second chance (let alone the third that EA's giving it with Dead Space 2).  Hell, EA even took a chance on Brutal Legend, a game pretty much everyone agreed before it released that it stood little chance of becoming a hit.  Activision, though, is like the logical extreme of where EA was before Ricatello took over.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Part of my issue with West and Zampella is that they think they should get millions of dollars in bonuses and control of the "Modern Warfare" subtitle just to do their job. You brought up Shigeru Miyamoto, he would not need Nintendo to pay him millions of dollars just to do his job. If Activisio wanted Infinity Ward to make a Call of Duty game, their ONLY response should have been "When would you like it finished?".

Don't forget that IW was with EA before hand. They left formed their own company (IW) mad ea good game and then sold to Activision with promises of whatever that were likely never really realized.

West & Zampella re-negotiated a contract with Activision before starting on MW2. If Activision didn't want to honor that contract, then they never should have made it. They could have told Z&W to go **** themselves and then tell the rest of IW to get started on the game.
But the point is that Z&W made a contract with profit sharing bonuses(& control of the MW name) before the game was made and Activision was holding their earnings hostage beyond the agreed upon payment date.

We haven't seen this contract yet, and likely never will, but I don't see how anyone could be on Activisions side when taking what we've heard so far as fact. Assuming it's all true.

[TJ Spyke]

EA's gotten a lot better in recent years, and Activision is way worse than EA ever was.

You must have forgotten all of the stuff EA did. They had to pay their software engineers $14.9 million and graphic artists $15.6 million because they were classifying them as salaried employees (meaning they make the same amount of money regardless of how much or little they work) so they could force them to work 60+ hour weeks without overtime. Besides the money, they also had to re-classify around 440 employees as hourly employees as hourly employees so they could make overtime. To me, forcing employees to routinely work 60-70 hour weeks with no overtime and being forced  to pay over $30 million in settlement is worse than any of the allegations against Activision Blizzard. Go look back at some of the articles (the settlements were in 2006).

Also, let's not confuse a company's business practices with it's products. A company can have bad business practices, but release good or great games (and vice-versa).

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Like I said, Nintendo cursed the James Bond license to ruin any subsequent holder thereafter.

[SixthAngel]

I think you are trippin' to side with Activision on this, but your opinion is yours.

I think everyone siding with Activsion is hilarious.

IW employees "We want our bonuses for making MW2."

Activision "We'll give you them after you make MW3."

Activision supporters "Do your job!.  No, not you Activision, you don't have to,  I'm talking about those lazy developers who actually want to be paid."  "If you want to get paid for work you already did you better work more."

Not honoring contracts is non unusual practice for Activision.  Just past experience should make you think they are wrong.
They just lost a lawsuit because they bought out a company making a DJ game before DJ Hero came out.  The company had a contract with another company to make this game and that contract stayed valid no matter who owned them.  Activision then stopped the production of the game, breaking the contract, in an attempt to let DJ Hero get all the attention.
Activision doesn't care about contracts or obligations as long is it sees some possible short term green at the end of the tunnel.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'll do some bolding this time so that the important parts aren't missed.

Modern  Warfare Developers Seek Half a Billion in Activision Suit

A group of nearly 40 past and present Infinity Ward developers have banded together to file suit against the publishers of Modern Warfare 2 for half a billion dollars, alleging breach of contract and unpaid royalties, according to court documents obtained by G4 TV.com.

The Infinity Ward Employee Group's suit, which lists 38 plaintiffs including some currently employed by Activision at the Infinity Ward studio, is seeking as much as half a billion in unpaid bonuses, royalties, profit sharing and future profits from games such as Modern Warfare 3 and punitive damages.

The suit alleges, according to G4 TV, that the payments were withheld to prevent employees from quitting Activision.

"In short, Activision withheld the property of the IWEG in an attempt to keep the employees hostage so that Activision could reap the benefit of the completion of Modern Warfare 3, " according to the suit.

Reached for comment Tuesday afternoon, an Activision spokesperson refuted the allegations:

"Activision believes the action is without merit," the spokesperson said. "Activision retains the discretion to determine the amount and the schedule of bonus payments for MW2 and has acted consistent with its rights and the law at all times. We look forward to getting judicial confirmation that our position is right."

[broodwars]

Also, let's not confuse a company's business practices with it's products. A company can have bad business practices, but release good or great games (and vice-versa).

Last time I checked, it was a good business practice (but risky) to create and maintain new IPs so you can continually diversify your product line and keep your consumers from becoming fatigued with any one of your older products.  EA could have spent the last few years coasting by on their EA SPORTS franchises and some of their legacy franchises like Command & Conquer and Medal of Honor.  But instead they formed Visceral and turned out new IPs like Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, and Dante's Inferno.  Hell, two of those sold relatively poorly (one of them twice), and they're getting another chance next year with new sequels.  They had to go through quite a bit of legal Hell to acquire Brutal Legend, including all that licensing for the old Heavy Metal music.  They made an effort to develop something worthwhile for the Wii with the two Boom Blox games.  They also hooked up with Bioware and Pandemic.  Sure, not all of these ventures panned out (especially with Pandemic having to be closed), but it at least shows that EA's been trying to improve its image and give itself a more stable future.

By comparison, Activision's openly just been trying to milk the same franchises over and over again until there's nothing left to exploit, they have a horrendous public image, and they're led by a man who's stated that his goal upon joining Activision was to take all the fun out of making games.  Just about all they've done right from a PR standpoint is leaving Blizzard alone to make their games as they see fit (and even then they've meddled a bit, such as splitting StarCraft II into 3 $60 PC releases).

[BlackNMild2k1]

::brings out the gas can::

The other shoe has now dropped. 

I've obtained a copy of a lawsuit filed this morning in the Los   Angeles Superior Court by 38 plaintiffs, calling themselves the   "Infinity Ward Employee Group," against Activision. The Infinity Ward   Employee Group (whom I'll refer to as IWEG throughout the rest of this   story) alleges breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of   good faith and fair dealing, violation of California labor code and   more. The group is after a large amount of unpaid royalties.

"Activision owes my clients approximately $75 million to $125 million   dollars," said Bruce Isaacs, one of the IWEG's attorneys at Wyman &   Isaacs LLP, over the phone this afternoon. "Activision has withheld   most of the money to force many of my people to stay, some against their   will, so that they would finish the delivery of Modern Warfare 3.   That is not what they wanted to do. Many of them. My clients' entitled   to their money. Activision has no right to withhold their money -- our   money."

The IWEG contains "a significant portion of the members of the   creative team" who "designed, developed and delivered" Call   of Duty: Modern Warfare 2   to Activision. According to the lawsuit, $28 million has been   delivered to Infinity Ward employees for bonuses related to Modern   Warfare 2, but the suit alleges at least $54 million is still due   from 2009 profits alone.

They want more than $54 million, however. The IWEG is looking "to   recover between $75 million and $125 million, if not more, in   compensatory damages." That number's derived from:

• Unpaid bonuses from 2009 and 2010 sales generated by Modern   Warfare 2 -- fourth quarter 2009 and first quarter 2010,   specifically.
• Bonuses "due and owing to them" past first quarter 2010.
• "Bonus/royalty/profit participation" related to   "technology/engine" royalties, "other special performance bonuses,"   "other studio bonuses" or "any other bonus/royalty/profit   participation."'
• Lost value on "restricted stock units" that Activision   "promised" would vest (read: own it in your own name and purchase it   from Activision) when Modern Warfare 2 sales eclipsed Modern   Warfare 1, which "has long ago occurred."
• Money owed as it relates to Modern Warfare 2 "sister   games, including but not limited to" the oft-mentioned Modern   Warfare 3, "if Modern Warfare 3 is ultimately delivered   and marketed."
• Interest rates related to the above sums of money.

  The lawsuit focuses on royalties generated for Modern Warfare 2   following release and the agreement between Infinity Ward employees and   Activision for receiving the subsequent bonuses. The IWEG contends the   only condition for becoming eligible for said bonuses was delivering Modern   Warfare 2 in time for the game's intended November 10, 2009   launch. Modern Warfare 2 did launch as scheduled on November 10   last year, generating $1.1 billion in 2009.

Modern Warfare 3 has been mentioned during the legal   back-and-forth between ex-Infinity Ward leadership Vince Zampella and   Jason West and Activision, and it's brought up again here, too.

The IWEG alleges Activision has "improperly withheld this   specifically identifiable sum of money from the members of IWEG in order   to force them to keep working for Activision so that Activision could   receive delivery of Modern Warfare 3." The suit alleges   Activision "made a calculated, purposeful and malicious decision" to   withhold proper bonuses "in an attempt to force employees of Infinity   Ward to continue to work at a job that many of them did not want just so   Activision could force them to complete the development, production and   delivery of Modern Warfare 3."

The legal language gets harsher, too.

"In short," reads the lawsuit, "Activision withheld the property of   the IWEG in an attempt to keep the employees hostage so that Activision   could reap the benefit of the completion of Modern Warfare 3."
What does the IWEG want in return? "At least in the additional amount   of $75 million to $500 million as an award for punitive damages,"   continues the lawsuit, citing a number calculated from the blockbuster   sales of Modern Warfare 2 and "Activision's net worth."

The IWEG also believes Activision violated California Labor Code   during their alleged failure of payment.
"Activision has a duty to pay all of the members of the IWEG all of   the money they are owed [...] within 72 hours of the termination of   their employment," reads the lawsuit. "Activision, however, has failed   to do so."

source: http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/704273/UPDATE-38-Infinity-Ward-Employees-File-Lawsuit-Against-Activision-Over-Royalties-Alleges-Devs-Held-Hostage.html