West, Zampella settle with Activision in Infinity Ward lawsuit [Update: Acti, Respawn, EA comment]
Ex-Infinity Ward employees Jason West and Vince Zampella have settled their lawsuit with Activision. "All parties have reached a settlement in the dispute, the terms of which are strictly confidential," the LA Times' Ben Fritz reports.
West and Zampella sued Activision in 2010, after Activision fired them and before they could collect all the promised royalties from the launch of Modern Warfare 2, they claimed. Activision paid $42 million to the Infinity Ward Employee Group -- which includes 38 current and former IW employees -- in May, as part of a separate lawsuit. The payment wasn't a settlement, but was part of Activision's own investigation for its counter-suit against West and Zampella, filed with their new publisher, EA, as a defendant.
EA and Activision settled their suit in May, while West and Zampella's claim rose to $1 billion. Claims in all three lawsuits are now dismissed.
There is no word yet on the terms of the settlement, and they may not ever be revealed, Fritz says, although this observation from the court room may provide a bit of insight into the final outcome: "Jason West is in court and smiling."
Update: Respawn Entertainment issued the following statement: "All parties to the litigation have reached a settlement of the dispute, the terms of which are strictly confidential."
Update 2: Activision issued a statement as well: "Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) today announced that all parties to the litigation have reached a settlement of the dispute, the terms of which are strictly confidential.
"The company does not believe that the incremental one-time charges related to the settlement will result in a material impact on its GAAP or non-GAAP earnings per share outlook for the current quarter or the calendar year, due to stronger-than-expected operating performance in the current quarter."
Update 3: Not to be forgotten, EA has chimed in, too: "Activision's refusal to pay their talent and attempt to blame EA were absurd. This settlement is a vindication of Vince and Jason, and the right of creative artists to collect the rewards due for their hard work."
