Workplace progress is symbiotic. You have your hardworking laymen and your planning, scheduling higher-ups. Everyone contributes--even though the paychecks may be very different.
This whole situation stems from Activision, breach of contract or not. This doesn't go back to just the first Modern Warfare. Remember when Infinity Ward was talking about Call of Duty 2? After their first CoD, they wanted to move into Modern Warfare. Remember who stepped in to intervene on behalf of the WWII shooter's sales numbers? Activision.
Purely as an outside observer, this is how it all looks to me: Infinity Ward was annoyed with Activision's coercion with forcing Call of Duty 2, however good the game turned out to be. They pitched their case again and Activision said fine. Then Activision, not willing to lose the fanbase or sales figures for WWII shooters, pulls in Treyarch to continue the historical entries while Infinity Ward fools around with their Modern Warfare concept.
Then the unthinkable happens: Call of Duty 3 sees ho-hum reception and Modern Warfare is a hit. Oh, snap! Time to refocus! Activision pressures Infinity Ward similarly to how they did on Call of Duty 2, except now they agree on the sequel. So Activision gets its hands deeper into the project, prying more and more control over aspects of the project now that they realize it could be a game that sells big.
It's no coincidence that we're seeing certain comments from either side of this legal fiasco. My though is that West and Zampella were so sick of having Activision taking control of their IP that they began considering an outside work or partnership. Breach of contract? Probably, but has anyone ever heard "provoke not your children to wrath"? It means don't bully your kids to the point they hate you, and that's exactly what Activision did.
West and Zampella were caught and subsequently fired. Then they partner with EA and start making statements about creative freedom and fully controlling their IPs. I see no coincidence in how Infinity Ward struggled to get Modern Warfare off the ground and its a strong entry, and MW2 had such a monstrous publicity campaign and sales launch and is buggy and undercooked. Then we had Activision toting their MW2 sales right on the heels of West and Zampella leaving, as if to say, "Look. See? We don't need them. The franchise will sustain itself."
Except now more Infinity Ward people are leaving. You ask me, the comments about Infinity Ward crumbling and Activision panicking are right on the money, whereas the positive comments are Activision trying to save face in this highly embarrassing situation. I think Activision clearly sees right where they are: circling the drain.
