Little over a month after former Infinity Ward and Modern Warfare 2 chief men Vince Zampella and Jason West were given the pink slip from Activision, the two are now setting up shop with the aforementioned publisher’s biggest rival, Electronic Arts. The two formed a new company, Respawn Entertainment, and will produce video games under the Electronic Art’s label but still enjoy a level of independence from the publisher. Kotaku broke the story earlier this morning:
“Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me,” Zampella said in a statement. “For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We’re very proud of what we built – and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again — open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA”
Zampella and West previously worked for EA before leaving the publisher for Activision and forming Infinity Ward. During their previous employ with EA the two were part of 2015, inc. where they helped develop Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Now that the two are returning to EA one could say they’ve come full circle, though admittedly, they have a much better deal going for them now than previously:
“We’re excited,” West said. “Now that the team is in control of the games and brands, we can ensure that the fans are treated as well as they deserve.”
Don’t expect any new game announcements from the new studio for a while. The two report that they have a few ideas for their next big game but no new announcements have been made.