Ben-DutkaIt's long past time to put this behind us, isn't it? Too bad we really can't just yet.
According to various sources, including The Verge , Activision has paid out $42 million to a group of 40 former Infinity Ward members implicated in a well-publicized lawsuit.
Anonymous sources claim this isn't a settlement; the Call of Duty publisher paid the money to the group representing former IW bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella after reviewing the facts of the case. The lawsuit is still ongoing. Apparently, Activision paid the $42 million because they believe that's what they owe the former employees. Now, the publisher may consider the matter finished (we'll see) and they will focus all their energy on dealing with West and Zampella.
Activision won a partial victory in the suit this past March, when a judge dismissed one of two fraud claims against Activision made by the two Respawn Entertainment founders. Last year, an IW exodus began after West and Zampella left; Activision says the two head men were fired because they were secretly planning to start a new studio and work with EA, while the IW bosses said they were fired because Activision didn't want to pay them what they rightfully deserved.
Well, at any rate, this will just keep going for a while…