Call of Duty creators go to war over bestselling game

Players of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 know the script only too well. An epic battle is being waged. A few men are fighting against a powerful enemy. But even with the odds against them, they could yet pull off a stunning coup.

But now war has broken out at Activision Blizzard, the makers of Modern Warfare 2, the most successful video game in history, after the men who created the title acrimoniously left the company.

Yesterday, it emerged that several other key employees behind the game had also walked out, leaving the fate of the franchise in the balance.

On Monday, Jason West and Vince Zampella, the men credited with creating the title, announced that they had formed a new studio called Respawn Entertainment, in partnership with Electronic Arts. The pair were senior executives at Activision’s Infinity Ward, the California-based group that has made the Call of Duty games.

Mr West and Mr Zampella walked out on the company nearly a month ago. They have been accused of mutiny by Activision for negotiating to work with other makers. Activision and the two men are now suing each other, with ownership over the Call of Duty franchise believed to be on the line.

In a legal document, Activision said that Mr West and Mr Zampella had “morphed from valued, responsible executives into insubordinate and self-serving schemers”. The two described the claims as “false and outrageous”.

Analysts said that nine other employees had left Infinity Ward in the past week, apparently disgruntled at the treatment of the creators. The game was believed to have about 90 employees before the walkouts.

The game puts players in the position of special forces soldiers in fictional modern-day conflicts across the Middle East and former Soviet states. Modern Warfare 2, the fourth game of the popular series, has sold 18 million copies worldwide since November last year, according to VGChartz, the games industry website. Global first-day sales exceeded $500 million (£323 million).

Evan Wilson, an industry analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, said: “Investors are starting to think that Activision really ticked off the whole studio.”

Industry observers said that Activision remained in a strong position. It also owns two other major games franchises, World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero. However, the company’s stock price has fallen more than 7.5 per cent this week.