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"Revelations" from Call of Duty suit led to rift between West and Zampella - Report

Source says Zampella felt West was "sabotaging" Respawn, barely came into the office before leaving for good in March.

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A source close to Respawn Entertainment has told Vanity Fair (via Superannuation) that "revelations" about Jason West's behavior upset Vince Zampella, leading to a rift between the longtime colleagues and Call of Duty creators.

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"Vince felt that Jason was sabotaging the company," a source said.

West reportedly "barely" came into the office during development of Titanfall, before leaving for good in March to "take care of some family issues" in North Carolina.

Speaking with Vanity Fair in April, Zampella would not go further into detail regarding the nature of his relationship with West, only saying, "It's hard to work with one person for 15 years."

A Respawn Entertainment representative told GameSpot today, "All the comment we have is what is already in the article. Vince put out an official statement about Jason leaving on our blog a few months ago and that's all I got for you."

It does not appear West will return to the industry anytime soon, telling Vanity Fair in August that he is "soured" on the game business, due in part to being "strong-armed" by executives.

"It does sort of sour you on the industry," West said. "It's tough. If we can't get treated well, what possible chance does a newcomer have? How do they prevent themselves from being strong-armed by the guys with the money? I wish I had the answer to that question, but I don't."

West and Zampella formed Respawn Entertainment in early 2010, following the pair's split from Infinity Ward and Activision over claims of broken promises and an internal investigation, which eventually led to a lawsuit against Activision.

The case was settled before going to trial in May last year.

Respawn's new game, Titanfall, launches next year exclusively on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.

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blackace

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This is what happens when you let large publishing corporations buy your company. After they do that, you are at their mercy because they hold all the money and all the cards. If I'm going to sell my company to a big business, they I'm not going to be a part of that company anymore. I'd take my money and run. You never want to be the little man having to obey the bigwigs if you don't have to.

Titanfall looks like it will be a great game, but with EA in charge, who knows what will happen to Respawn or the Titanfall franchise.

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666TRYME666

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This game looks really awesome. I'll be sure to follow up with more reading to see what the plan is going forward. I especially like the idea of bounding within the environment with ease. Seems really smooth.

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destroyeur

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I bet he got fed up when on one side he is getting rid of corporate America whilst Zampella was signing deals with Microsoft for exclusivity. I'd be curious to know if he even approved of the EA publishing deal.

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Verityrant

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That would probably be why Kickstarter, Project Greelight, and other alternative funding/publishing means are getting so popular. Game devs don't want to lose control of their idea to money men.

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thedeadraptor

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Edited By thedeadraptor

Let's see them try and strong arm me!

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blackace

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@thedeadraptor What are you going to do? Kick them in the nads?

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ewjiml

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So he finally came to the revelation that publishers are out there to make money....who would have thought....

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LonelyHippie27

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Edited By LonelyHippie27

This is the guy to blame for ruining COD. Zampella is a cool dude. I think he sees how bad the franchise has been raped, kinda hard to not notice really.

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steelmouth

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it would be great if West also made his own game so instead of one we get two games :)

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whatshannenin

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I'm sure Sony has a few new spots available for a name like his..

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caramel_cod

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"How do they prevent themselves from being strong-armed by the guys with the money?" They don't. Neither do the veterans. And you can't make games with your own money either. Hell, the movie/television industries are in a similar state.


Creativity takes a backseat to marketability, or it dies. It's the pathetic reality of many modern industries.

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SythisTaru

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@caramel_cod Kickstarter says otherwise :D

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blue-peregrine

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Announcers voice: On the last episode of *insert soap opera title for this video game article*

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Syphon_Filter2

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The entire company is shit and their game. I will never pay a cent nor supporting this crap company.

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BoromiRofGeo

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@Syphon_Filter2 you disgrace Syphon Filter 2, delete your account.

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SythisTaru

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@Syphon_Filter2 Die.

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LonelyHippie27

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@SythisTaru Looks like we got a COD fanboy here

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acelogan1989

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yawn

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Homerj

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Sounds like West had a "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" revalation at some point, told the execs to stuff it and Zampella wanted to kowtow. Given the timed exclusivity deal, its pretty easy to see why West took his money and told everybody involved to stick it.

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qualopec_1

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@Homerj You trolls are never happy, are you?

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Meta-Gnostic

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And thus Activision's work is over.

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frozenux

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVzB4rWdcck

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Redsyrup

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Edited By Redsyrup

One word West. Kickstarter.

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Claudiov1_0

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Edited By Claudiov1_0

@Redsyrup WEST: I AM HERE TO KICKSTART A BRAND NEW AMAZING SHOOTER, IT'S NAME TITAN OF DUTY,,,then AC\DC plays on the background... how about it??


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arc_salvo

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@Claudiov1_0

Hey, WTF dude, that's not cool at ALL, now if it was Titan of Duty of Halo of Gears of HONOR... THEN I'd throw money at it!

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Claudiov1_0

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@arc_salvo @Claudiov1_0 But we need to keep the AC\DC song in the background... that's part of the product xD

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LonelyHippie27

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@SythisTaru @arc_salvo @Claudiov1_0 GTA V FTW!

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SythisTaru

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@arc_salvo @Claudiov1_0 View is in first person = must be generic, right? Derp.

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Anigmar

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Edited By Anigmar

@Claudiov1_0 So generic... boom, 10 million backers. Sad world, isn't it?

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Claudiov1_0

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@Anigmar @Claudiov1_0 Truly mate -.-

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Anigmar

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This is turning into some odd soap drama.

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doolindesperado

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@Anigmar you can say that again.

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Anigmar

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@doolindesperado @Anigmar I can totally see a new reality show like Big Brother but using developers, publishers' CEOs and even Gamestop's employees. It'd be the ultimate trash.

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doolindesperado

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@Anigmar @doolindesperado shhhh..... don't give them any ideas! :D

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Darth_Ultima

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What I took from this article is that greedy executives are killing the game industry by driving off the best talent. Which doesn't surprise me.

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b74kd3th

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Edited By b74kd3th

I'm sure west has enough money in the bank that he no longer needs the game industry anymore.

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Avatar image for KeenoControl
KeenoControl

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Sounds like Activision was right...at least about Jason West

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collinmul

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@KeenoControl Yeah, I was thinking now that at least *some* of what Activision alleged may be true about him.

West felt wronged, he stopped caring, and then Activision - and later Zampella - grew tired of his antics.

Still probably got screwed over in the first place by Activision, but he didn't handle the situation nearly as well as Zampella, apparently.

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Lambchopzin

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Edited By Lambchopzin

@TrueGB @collinmul @KeenoControl This is pretty much why Bobby Kotick stopped saying shit publicly. Just about everything that comes out of that dudes mouth is abhorent

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