Trouble in Paradise: What's Going on at Activision?

When the storm troopers arrived at Activision in early March

, what resulted was a swift and unclear dismissal of Jason West and Vince Zampella of Infinity Ward and a pending lawsuit against the company by the two. Many speculate that this was an unfair dismissal on the part of Activision in order to avoid a large royalty payment due on March 31st. Whatever the reason, more details will certainly be revealed as the $36 million lawsuit progresses. What is not yet clear is the effect that this will have on the Call of Duty series - one of the most successful franchises of all time. Will this spell the end of this series or will Call of Duty come back from this crippling modern warfare between two industry titans?

What Was Next For Call of Duty Anyway?

By most accounts, the next Call of Duty was (and likely still is) slated for a November 2010 release and seems to be based on Vietnam (currently called Call of Duty: Black Ops). However, the available trailer does not provide enough information to conclude whether it is Vietnam or perhaps a broader view on the Cold War. It will be a new approach to the franchise and occur entirely behind enemy lines. Some speculation is that the game will consist of flashbacks from a familiar character. This game is still slated for release and is being developed by Treyarch. Clearly, the dismissal of West and Zampella will not have a detrimental effect on this already nearly completed game.

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Is Activision in Trouble?

In short, no. This video game giant that owns Blizzard (World of Warcraft, Starcraft) and the most popular online shooter of all time has also recently acquired Bungie (anyone remember Halo?). This will break the 10 year "If you don't have an Xbox, you can't play Halo" stink. Even if West and Zampella win their pending lawsuit (it will probably settle), Activision will soldier on. Many are making the decision to boycott Activision because of their fishy actions. However, this is yet to be determined. To think that World of Warcraft players would stop playing the game because of troubles with Infinity Ward is a little ridiculous.

Are West and Zampella in Trouble?

Absolutely not. They have already received offers from other major game studios and are considering forming their own. Even without the rights to develop another Call of Duty game (something that might change), this brilliant pair has shown time and again that they can compete in tough markets and come out ahead. You might expect to see another shooter and the two might begin to compete with Activision with a new franchise. Whatever happens, these two are not going anywhere and players might benefit from a new line of games that will once again topple a giant's hold on the online first person shooter. After all, if you can develop a game that can take on Halo, you can do anything.

Trouble in Paradise: What's Going on at Activision?

By: gamepodunk

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