Activision vs Infinity Ward: Bringing the fight to EA's door

Remember a time when Activision and Infinity Ward were swimming hand in hand in their Scrooge McDuck sized Call of Duty-branded money bin? Remember when that all came crashing down last March when the two companies engaged in legal fisty cuffs over a lot of unpaid royalties, as well as who owned what? Well, it now seems that Activision is taking this urban warfare into round two, filing a motion to amend its counter suit citing a new "conspirator": mega publisher, and Activision's biggest rival, Electronic Arts.

"Electronic Arts conspired with two former senior Activision executives, West and Zampella to derail Activision's Call of Duty franchise, disrupt its Infinity Ward development studio, and inflict serious harm on the company," said a statement from the 39-page filing by Activision.

Activision claims that EA was secretly holding meetings and email discussions with both IW founders, West and Zampella, with the intention to court them from Activision while under full knowledge that both developers were still under contract with Activision for another two years. The complaint states that these meetings “were structured with the design and the expectation that West and Zampella would 'spin out' from Activision and would take significant numbers of key Infinity Ward employees with them to set up their own independent company so that Electronic Arts could make another run at competing with Activision."

In an attempt to rebuild their money bin to its former glory Activision is asking for $400 million in "actual and punitive damages from EA and the former executives, including profits Activision would have made but for EA's interference, costs incurred in rebuilding the affected studio, and damages suffered as a result of delays and disruptions," as well as the right to take back the compensation they paid their “faithless executives”.

In an email to the LA Times, EA spokesman, Jeff Brown, hit back, saying, "This is a PR play filled with pettiness and deliberate misdirection. Activision wants to hide the fact that they have no credible response to the claim of two artists who were fired and now just want to get paid for their work."

This all adds an entirely new angle to the Activision/Infinity Ward “saga”. Originally painting Activision as this monster entity hungry for money and power this might show that West and Zampella were not as innocent as one might have thought. Were they secretly working hand in hand with EA to subvert the Call of Duty brand, or is this just an attempt by Activision to clean up their “evil” money hungry image? The courts will decide in January weather EA will be added to the existing lawsuit and the trial date between West, Zampella and the Infinity Ward Emplyee Group vs. Activision is set for May 23, 2011.

[via Joystiq]