Following the drama surrounding Jason West and Vince Zampella’s firing over at Activision is like following a good TV drama. There were bouncers and violence and conspiracies and all sorts of awesome stuff. However, now, we are at that point before the credits of the last episode where we get shots of each of the key characters and a text overlay that says what they did with their lives after the show was over. So, if I were to be writing that text overlay it would be something like “Jason West and Vince Zampella moved on to start Respawn Entertainment, an independent studio allied with Electronic Arts. Activision has kicked themselves ever since.”

Seriously, this all seems a little wonky. Modern Warfare 2 is now a best-selling game and Activision gives these guys the axe? What did they think would happen. Now they have a new studio, and they are helping EA give Activision a spanking. This is not a fun day for Activision at all, I’ll tell you that much.

The most important thing about Respawn Entertainment, is that West and Zampella will not only keep creative control over their games, but they will also retain ownership rights over them. This means that they will get a bigger chunk of the profits and won’t find themselves running into problems reminiscent of their falling out with Activision. Above all else, they want to be able to control the brand, and supposedly this is the only way that works. Good luck!

West and Zampella were two key names in the development of Modern Warfare 2. So now all eyes are on Infinity Ward. How will they handle the loss of such key members, and will the Call of Duty franchise survive without them? So far, that does not seem to be the case. Last week Todd Aldermann and Francesco Gigliotti, lead designer and lead software engineer for Modern Warfare 2 also left Activision.

West and Zampella describe EA’s offer as an offer of “sanctuary” which allows them to get really creative with future projects, after the whole lawsuit business with Activision blows over of course. EA is fronting most of the costs right now, but eventually, expects the relationship to pay off in new IPs and deep fan and brand dedication. If West and Zampella can give EA a new Modern Warfare 2, they may very well outdo their old brand name.

Frank Gibeau, president of the EA Games label said “This reminds me of when the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees.” We tend to agree. [Variety]

Related posts on 30ninjas.com:

• Call of Duty Gets a Prequel?
• Activision Lawsuit Extension Squeezes West/Zampella With Time
• Call of Duty Getting Pay-to-Play Upgrades in a Few Months?
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — A Hater’s Review
• Call of Duty: Black Ops — The Good Gameplay, The Bad Story, and The Ugly Grue
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Lover’s Review