Earlier this week, a California judge refused to dismiss Electronic Arts Inc., an interactive software development company, from a lawsuit that had been filed against it by Activision Blizzard Inc., another video game developer. The California breach of contract lawsuit was originally filed against two former Activision employees, but was amended in December to name EA as a defendant.

The lawsuit alleges that EA improperly recruited former Activision employees Jason West and Vincent Zampella following their firing from Activision, where the pair headed the company's Infinity Ward game development studio. After leaving the company in March, West and Zampella formed a game studio called Respawn, and quickly signed a contract with EA, giving the company the rights to publish the new studio's first creation.

What makes this lawsuit so contentious is the collective résumés of West and Zampella. The pair created the highly successful Call of Duty video game series, from the first game in 2003 and including the many popular sequels that have been released in the eight years since. The series is estimated to have generated billions of dollars in sales for Activision, who have not publicly discussed the reason for the creators' firings.

Activision is now alleging that West and Zampella breached their contracts, and that EA improperly recruited the pair. EA asked the court to dismiss it from the lawsuit, but the recent decision from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle means that the company will be forced to remain in the trial until at least the next step. EA may still make a summary judgment motion in order to have Activision's claims against it rejected.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "Judge refuses to let Electronic Arts off the hook in Activision lawsuit over Infinity War", Alex Pham, 16 March 2011