What's Been Rumoured
- That IW bosses Vince Zampella and Jason West have been fired. Neither the pair nor Activision have issued statements regarding the issue, so the nature of their employment (or departure) is yet to be confirmed; remember, the Activision SEC filing only mentions "two senior employees", it doesn't name names. Indeed, we haven't heard anything from Zampella regarding the situation.
- That Activision sent security guards to the Infinity Ward offices. Who those men are, who sent them and more importantly, what they were doing there have yet to be determined. All we have are reports that they were "bouncer-types", nothing more.
What We Know
- The Activision SEC filing is legit, and is concrete information. They are serious allegations, and will probably result in a major lawsuit. But it certainly isn't a publicity stunt, who fires the two heads of one of their biggest developers for publicity? Kotick was just trying to look warm and fuzzy at a speech he gave, he certainly doesn't want this type of publicity.
- Jason West no longer works at Infinity Ward. His Linkedin profile page is legitimate, and clearly states that he ceased employment at the studio in March 2010. We just don't know why/how he no longer works there.
That's it. Be sure to separate the two when considering the situation, as things are still incredibly murky. We will of course update you (and this post) throughout the day as we hear more on the situation.
Update 1: CEO and studio head Vince Zampella's Linked In account updated about 9 a.m. Mountain time this morning. The profile now shows his job at Infinity Ward as previous employment. Under experience Zampella lists his job ending at Infinity Ward this month, after 8 years and three months with the company. His current job and title are listed as TBD.