In the entirety of the history of the gaming industry, there have been many incidents and events, however only quite a few stand out. One such incident was when Activision fired the founders of Infinity Ward back in 2010, triggering a mass resignation campaign that put the future of the Call of Duty franchise at risk.
As revealed on LinkedIn by a former employee of Infinity Ward, Paul Sandler, Activision, fired Vince Zampella and Jason West on the grounds of insubordination and had them escorted out with security to ensure they were not to enter the building again. This would trigger the upset of the employees, and threaten the development of the upcoming Modern Warfare 3.
Sandler further in his article revealed how Activision tried to handle the issue by organizing a meeting, which proved to not have much of an effect on the employee. Towards the end, they had to see a significant reduction in the development team of Infinity Ward.
How Did Activision Try To Damage-Control The Mass Resignation Of Infinity Ward Employees?
Bearing in mind how the heads of their team were fired with such disrespect, many of the developers were motivated to follow West and Zampella and quit the company in solidarity. Sensing the high tensions, a meeting was called for in the kitchen of the office, where the executives of Activision discussed with the employees.
Sandler quoted how the employees stood in Stoic silence, and when the executives were asked about the bonus of Modern Warfare 2 sales, the former developer revealed that the executives answered-
‘Guys, if you stay with the studio to make Modern Warfare 3, you will receive your MW2 bonuses. AND we will also give everyone a fifty percent salary increase’. He paused slightly before repeating: ‘That is a five and a zero, fifty percent’, ‘Look, I get it. I know this is a tough situation. But, just take the money and get over it.’
Despite their attempts at motivating the developers to stay, 40 out of a total of 100 developers still decided to leave the studio anyway. This was followed by a lawsuit against Activision to claim royalties and the bonus for Modern Warfare 2.
The founders of Infinity Ward eventually led another studio by the name of Respawn Entertainment, which went on to release titles such as Titanfall and the super-successful Apex Legends.
Aftermath Of The Mass Resignation By Infinity Ward Employees
Activision first bought out Infinity Ward back in 2003, which was the year the first Call of Duty game ever came out. The studio was also responsible for creating the hit Modern Warfare 2 before the resignation incident.
The quitting of nearly half the team put the development of Modern Warfare 3 at risk, and the developing studio had to finish the title with the help of Sledgehammer Games before finally releasing it in 2011.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 went on to gross over 400 million dollars in sales, which set off the few golden years of the franchise with the continuous releases of hit games such as the Black Ops series.
