Infinity Ward Heads Fired? Options

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G4tv.com reports on drama at Infinity Ward that includes the apparent departure of studio heads Vince Zampella
and Jason West amid allegations of "breaches of contract and insubordination." The story began with G4 reporting
that a bunch of "bouncer-types" showed up at the Call of Duty developer's offices following a meeting Activision
held with Zampella and West (reportedly the pair were not seen in the offices following the meet). This was followed
by Kotaku showing a shot of Jason West's Facebook status reading "Jason West is drinking. Also, no longer
employed." Likewise, Jason West's LinkedIn Profile now lists his tenure at Infinity Ward as January 2001 – March
2010. Details on exactly what went down are still vague, but the most significant clue seems to be in an Activision
SEC filing stating: "The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and
insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward. This matter is expected to involve the departure of key
personnel and litigation. At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the
Company."

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And now more and one the same day nonetheless...

Activision Launches Call of Duty Unit

Activision has announced the formation of a new unit to run the Call of Duty series, also confirming reports
of the departure of former studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, reports Reuters. Word is: "An
Activision spokesman declined to provide any details beyond the filing, but said the departure of the Infinity
Ward executives and the decision to form a new business unit for 'Call of Duty' were unrelated." Word is:
"The new 'Call of Duty' business unit will be led by Philip Earl, who currently runs Activision Publishing's Asia
Pacific region. The company said it will look to expand the brand into new geographies and genres, and focus
on higher-margin digital online content. Steve Pearce and Steve Ackrich will lead Infinity Ward on an interim
basis." The report also says: "The newest "Call of Duty" title, scheduled for release this fall, was developed
by a different Activision studio, as was another title in the series expected to be released in 2011." This is
expanded by Gamasutra where they confirm rumors that start-up studio Sledgehammer is working on the
2011 game, while this year's installment in the series will be created by Treyarch. According to Edge Online,
Sledgehammer's contribution to the series will be an action/adventure, rather than a first-person shooter.