Today, Jason West and Vince Zampella, creators of the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty franchise, announced the formation of a new development studio -- Respawn Entertainment. The move positions the Respawn Entertainment leadership team as the owners of the intellectual property they create. The company will focus on creating state-of-the-art gaming experiences for global audiences. The studio is currently assembling a world-class team of designers, artists and engineers. Applicants can submit resumes to [email protected].
Respawn is pleased to also announce that it has awarded Electronic Arts , through the distinguished EA Partners program, exclusive worldwide publishing and distribution rights to future games. Terms were not disclosed. West and Zampella are represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

"Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me," said Vince Zampella, General Manager of Respawn Entertainment. "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."

"We're excited," added Jason West, President of Respawn Entertainment. "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."

Frank Gibeau, President of the EA Games Label commented, "This is the start of a great publishing partnership – one that I expect will develop blockbuster game franchises. Jason and Vince are two of the top creative leaders in the entertainment industry. At EA, we're honored to be their partners and to give them the support they need to hire a team and return to making incredible games."

"This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against Jason West and Vince Zampella."

I don't care about that, I buy the IW developed games, I love Assassin's Creed and some other games from Activision and I will also keep buying games from whoever makes a games that I like.

Modern Warfare 2 might be causing a stink in the UK thanks to its disgusting RRP of £54.99, but if you think evil publisher Activision cared, you'd be mistaken. In fact, CEO Bobby Kotick has admitted, without a shred of shame, that he would raise game prices even higher if he could.

Kotick's response came after Mike Griffith answered an anylyst question on price points: "And then on the second question, Tony, on the pricing, we’ve had for all of our launch titles in the back half of this year, some of which contain peripherals, as you point out, very strong retailer acceptance and support for all parts of our plan, including our merchandising plans, our marketing programs, and our price points."

To which Kotick added: "And Tony, you know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further."

"I don't think it is specific to video games. I think that if you look at how much volatility there is in the economy and, dependent upon your view about macroeconomic picture and I think we have a real culture of thrift. And I think the goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks that we brought in to Activision 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games."

"I think we definitely have been able to instill the culture, the skepticism and pessimism and fear that you should have in an economy like we are in today. And so, while generally people talk about the recession, we are pretty good at keeping people focused on the deep depression."