[UPDATED] Infinity Ward Studio Heads no Longer with the Team

Infinity Ward Studio Heads “No Longer Employed”

It seems some strange things are going down at Infinity Ward HQ today. In an SEC filing made this morning, Activision cited a human resources investigation into “breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward.”

“This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation,” read the filing. “At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company.”

It all started this morning when a “bunch of bouncer-types” just showed up outside of the Infinity Ward offices unannounced. When approached by employees, the non-uniformed “bouncers” were unwilling to disclose why they were there.

Infinity Ward studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West reportedly met with Activision this morning and have not been seen by Infinity Ward staff members. It has since transpired that they have been fired and are no longer part of the team.

According to his LinkedIn profile, West, IW’s president, is no longer employed; the profile states that he was with Infinity Ward up until “March 2010″.

“President/Game Director/CCO/CTO Infinity Ward
January 2001 – March 2010 (9 years 3 months)”

West’s Facebook page also states he is “no longer employed”.

Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has vaguely addressed the situation via Twitter.

“I should also say, while I appreciate all the calls, tweets, messages and hearing my ringtone a lot, they’re in vain – as I have no info.”

The mood around the Infinity Ward offices is currently described as “freaked out” and “confused”. “We just wanna make our games,” said the source.

I’ll keep you updated with any new developments.

[via G4]

UPDATE 1: Activision CEO to Meet with Infinity Ward Soon

A source close to the IW team have informed G4 that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick will address the development leads at Infinity Ward in a meeting in just a few minutes.

After Kotick and company’s meeting with the leads at Infinity Ward, there will be a second meeting addressing the studio as a whole.

Stay tuned for further developments.