Rights to Modern Warfare could be split

Should Activision fail in its court case against former Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella, the publisher will face having to share the rights to Modern Warfare with the pair, a Gamespot report suggests.

The lawyer representing West and Zampella claims that the Modern Warfare creators are seeking to invalidate a contract made with Activision, which would lead to a shared ownership of the Modern Warfare brand.

“If granted, Activision would co-own the Modern Warfare brand with Vince and Zampella, which would give the two the right to release their own copies of the game,” the Gamespot report read.

The lawyer was also paraphrased as claiming a voided contract “would also give West and Zampella the right to create new games in the Modern Warfare franchise.”

Zampella and West were fired from Infinity Ward just over a year ago, having been accused of insubordination. The pair have demanded “in excess of $36 million” from Activision in punitive damages. Activision has accused them of insubordination.

Activision has also been successful in bringing publisher EA into the counter suit against Zampella and West.

A trial is due to take place this year, and could be heard around the same time a rumoured third Modern Warfare title hits stores.

Two parties owning rights to Modern Warfare would present an usual situation, enabling rival products featuring the same brand to hit stores. If such a scenario became a reality we could see one of the parties attempt to buy out the other to restore the one owner situation.