Modern Warfare 3 Is Apparently Being "Held Hostage" By The Fired IW Staffers.

ex-Infinity Ward men debacle, you probably wouldn't know that Jason West and Vince Zampella - ex-gaffers at Modern Warfare 2 studio Infinity Ward - were fired by the company's parent Activision and later reacted by issuing legal action against the company. Well Activision's just released a counter-complaint against the ex-employees, complaining the duo are "delaying pre-production of Modern Warfare 3".

The suit notes that "Activision did not arrive at its decision to fire West and Zampella lightly or without good reason."

"In certain respects, West and Zampella were valuable executives at the company," Activision's suit continues. "[However] West and Zampella morphed from valued, responsible executives into insubordinate and self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack Activision's assets for their own personal gain."

Meaty! But the file gets juicier as Activision claim knowledge of the pair "embarking on a secret trip by private jet to Northern California, arranged by their Hollywood agent, to meet with the most senior executives of Activision's closest competitor" — that competitor being Electronic Arts.

The kicker is in Activision's closing claims though, where they suggest the pair are responsible for "holding future editions of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise hostage unless Activision acceded to their demands." More specifically, Activision claim they are "delaying pre-production of Modern Warfare 3 and attempting to use that delay as leverage in their negotiations."

This legal dispute is honestly likely to run and run. Exactly what effect it will have on the future of the Call Of Duty franchise is unknown at this point, but it seems unlikely either side are going to back down. And that's likely to lead to repercussions.