Respawn Entertainment
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Infinity Ward lead designer now Respawn lead designer [update]
The LinkedIn profile (login required) of former Infinity Ward Lead Designer Todd Alderman, one of the 2015 Inc. staffers who left to form Infinity Ward, reveals that he has signed on as the Lead Game Designer for the new Respawn Entertainment. Hey, don't some other guys from Infinity Ward work at Respawn now? What a happy coincidence! Though we all assumed that departing Infinity Ward staffers would join up with the new studio headed by Vince Zampella and Jason West -- of their own volition, of course, and not through "active soliciting" from Respawn, since the new developer is legally barred from such activity -- this is the first indication of such a thing actually taking place. So now the company has at least three employees. That's enough to make a AAA game, right? Each person only has to work on one "A." Update: G4 is keeping a running tally of the former IW-ers joining Respawn. It's now up to six, including animators, artists, and programmers. [Via G4]
Report: Four more Infinity Ward employees leave studio
Lead designers Zied Reike and Steve Fukuda, as well as programmer Rayme Vinson, have left ailing Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward, according to "sources close to the studio" speaking with Kotaku. Additionally, lead artist Chris Cherubini is confirmed to have left the studio. And yes, folks, this is the second story we've written today about developers exiting the Activision-owned dev house, bringing the number of employee departures since studio co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired up to nine in total. As with other developers that left IW recently, little information has been given as to where everyone will end up -- none have been confirmed as moving to West and Zampella's newly formed Respawn Entertainment as of yet. Regardless, if previous reports about low studio morale and unpaid royalties were true, we wouldn't be surprised to see quite a few more IW departures in the near future.
Report: Three more leave Infinity Ward
IGN reports that three more staffers have left Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward. Programmer Jon Shiring and senior animator Bruce Ferriz independently confirmed that they were leaving IW, with Ferriz heading to Big Red Button Entertainment and Shiring not providing more information. "I'm not trying to create spectacle, I just wanted to avoid the LinkedIn nonsense," Shiring said of his move, referring to two former IW employees who were discovered via LinkedIn to have left the studio. Lead designer Mackey McCandlish has also confirmed (via Twitter) that he's leaving the studio after "a great 8+ year run." This news comes just one day after the ousted IW co-founders announced the creation of Respawn Entertainment and a partnership with ... ahem ... EA Partners. As of this writing, no ex-Infinity Ward employees have joined the new venture.
Interview: Vince Zampella and Jason West talk Respawn Entertainment
Today we spoke with recently laid off Infinity Ward cofounders Vince Zampella and Jason West about their new project, Respawn Entertainment, and their new partner, Electronic Arts. While there's no game to promote just yet, and no physical location determined for the new studio, and just two employees battling it out for Employee of the Month, there's still plenty to talk about -- including the best magician-themed analogy we've heard in awhile. Read on!
Respawn Entertainment announced by ex-IW heads, partnering with EA
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/12/respawn-entertainment/'; We learned on Friday that ousted Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella planned to have an announcement "very soon" concerning their "creative future" – and now, at 9am ET the following Monday, they've issued a press release announcing Respawn Entertainment, a new development studio that will give West and Zampella ownership of the games they create. "We have learned the hard way," Zampella told the LA Times, "that the best way to ensure the integrity and quality of your work and make sure the fans get what they deserve is to own the intellectual property." But West and Zampella aren't going it alone; the pair have teamed up with (who else?) Electronic Arts through its EA Partners business. EA Games Label prez Frank Gibeau said, "This is the start of a great publishing partnership -- one that I expect will develop blockbuster game franchises ... 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." In addition to handling future publishing duties, EA is funding the new developer "with several million dollars in seed capital," LA Times reports. That's unusual for a developer that's retaining the intellectual property rights to its games. "What makes Vince and Jason's deal so ground-breaking is that EA is investing in them as individuals, not as part of a larger, established company," the pair's agent (and former Xbox pitchman) Seamus Blackley told the Times. Of course, neither West nor Zampella would comment on what Respawn will be working on or what genre it might land in (military shooter, anyone?), but West did say it would be of the "huge, summer blockbuster" variety. Did you expect anything less? [Update: Activision issued the following statement following the announcement of Respawn Entertainment: "This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against Jason West and Vince Zampella. We look forward to continuing to work with Infinity Ward's deep bench of proven talent on exciting new projects."] [Update 2: We spoke with West and Zampella about Respawn – read our interview here.] Source: Jason West and Vincent Zampella's new call of duty [LA Times] Source: Jason West and Vince Zampella Form 'Respawn Entertainment' [press release]
