Respawn Entertainment has lost its co-founder Jason West, one of the co-creators of the Call of Duty franchise, according to stories by game publications Polygon and Giant Bomb.
Polygon reported that West retired from the new game studio he helped co-found in 2010 with partner Vince Zampella. The publication said the reason for the departure was family related and was not related to any issues at the game studio. Giant Bomb said it independently confirmed West’s departure.
West and Zampella set off a firestorm in 2010 when they were fired from Activision, which accused the pair of plotting to start their own company while they were still running Infinity Ward, the studio that Activision acquired and which published the best-selling first-person shooter Call of Duty games. Respawn is preparing to make an appearance at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show in June, presumably to show off a new game.
Activision sued West and Zampella, who in turn accused the company of failing to pay them royalties. The two men left to create Respawn and were funded by Electronic Arts, which will publish their game. Activision sued EA as well, but the litigation was eventually settled.
[Photo credit: Dean Takahashi]