Jason West and Vincent Zampella, formerly key players at Call of Duty developer Infinty Ward, have found a new partner in Electronic Arts.
In a press release issued Monday, the duo announced the launch of a new company, Respawn Entertainment. Electronic Arts will publish work created by the new studio. West and Zampella (pictured above at left and right) will retain the rights to the new intellectual property they create.
As studio heads at Infinity Ward, West and Zampella oversaw the creation and wild success of the Call of Duty franchise, a series of realistic, war-themed shooters that have generated billions of dollars.The duo were fired by their employer Activision Blizzard in March. The developers and publisher have filed lawsuits against each other, publicly airing the dirty laundry of their dispute. (Dubious Quality has a good breakdown of the lawsuits today.)
According to the Los Angeles Times, Electronic Arts is providing several million dollars in seed money to get the ball rolling.
West and Zampella told Gamasutra that they are busy putting together a new team, fishing for talent in the Los Angeles area.
Respawn Entertainment isn't saying what kind of game it is making. But it is worth noting that EA Los Angeles and EA DICE are currently developing a new version of Medal of Honor, a series that Zampella once contributed to before partnering with Activision in 2002.
Photo: Chris Kohler/Wired.com
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