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Activision vs Infinity Ward
Holy xxxx!! Has anyone else been following this?
So Activision filed a SEC violation against Infinity Ward. Activision also dismissed the top two staffers at Infinity Ward. Oh, and Activision sent a ton of Security Guard/bouncer types to the Infinity Ward offices and closed them down.
Connect this with: Call of Duty being one of only three franchises that make up 98% of Activision's revenue (World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero). Activision handing over development of Call of Duty franchises to other developers. Activision wanting to release a Call of Duty title yearly.
Oh, and Activision has yet to pay any royalties to Infinity Ward for Modern Warfare 2. I guess it didn't make any money.
My take? With my best effort at not getting sued?
- If for any reason Infinity Ward
But I am sure that is a coincidence.
More information can be found here:
BingeGamer: Infinity Ward Has Not Received Royalties for Modern Warfare 2
Kotaku: Scandal Hits Call Of Duty Devs
Dubious Quality: Strange Days, Indeed
GamaSutra: Sledgehammer To Make 2011 Call Of Duty, Activision Reorganizes Franchise
JoyStiq: Activision confirms Infinity Ward studio heads' departures; Publishing execs take over
G4TV: Video Game Industry Reactions to Infinity Ward Situation
ThatVideoGameBlog: Updated / Odd things happening at Infinity Ward. President fired?
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Activision already owns the rights to the Call of Duty franchise.
Obviously this isn't boding well for Activision, as they are looking like the Metallica of the game industry. But when one of your three top revenue streams starts drying up (Guitar Hero), then I guess they felt like they needed to gain a tighter grip on the Call of Duty franchise.
I'm not sure if Activision is a publicly traded company, but I would be wary of investing in a company that can't make a profit without 3 key franchises (much like Take-Two and GTA).
I seem to recall the developers wanting to add more instruments, but Activision forcing them to stick with just guitars. So the devs left and started their own product line, called "Rock Band", or something like that.
but they were Accused of Stealing From a DJ Hero Rival.