I saw the same G4 story you did. When I learn something I’ll pass it on but so far I don’t know anything.
UPDATE March 2, 12:54 AM:
Still don’t know much, but this SEC filing was posted, and this phrase within it makes me doubt we’re going to hear much of anything in the way of concrete details:
“The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry 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.”
The phrases “internal human resources inquiry” and “litigation” almost ensure that nobody involved will be able to say anything, whether they want to or not. Companies never talk about lawsuits until they’re settled, and I’ve never heard of a company that had personnel issues that was willing to come out and talk about them…remember how officially quiet Gertsmanngate was? Nobody got a straight answer from any of the involved parties. The less any of the principals say, the better it is for them. Of course, that just makes the rumor mill kick into overdrive…but the rumor mill doesn’t have to appear before a judge.
I strongly suspect nobody will be able to say anything unless whatever expected lawsuits address this matter go to court and become a matter of public record. Until then, everybody’s probably going to clam up for legal reasons. I think a lot of “news” tomorrow will be rumor and gossip rather than fact.
Tomorrow promises to be…well, fun isn’t the word. I’m going to bed. Maybe if I’m lucky, I will die in my sleep.
UPDATE: March 2, 10:30AM
No such luck.
The only thing I want to clarify this morning…well, it almost stuns me that I have to clarify it. I was not there, I do not know exactly who showed up at IW’s offices and what was done…but I am giving you my personal guarantee that nobody was murdered or kidnapped by mercenaries. I have seen these incredible assumptions out there, and I have watched them spread to the point where I felt I had to say something.
And what I want to say is: Seriously, folks? Seriously? Activision makes fantasy wargames; it doesn’t play them out. Activision is a videogame publisher, not a videogame. When there are serious personnel disputes or layoffs that extra personnel is brought in to make sure it all goes smoothly. There’s a difference between extra people to make sure things don’t get nasty and dudes roping down from choppers with knives in their teeth. It stuns me that that’s the mental image people had of what, by all rational accounts, was a tense business meeting.
Every time you pass around a completely mental rumor like that “ZOMG KIDNAPPERZ,” you are hurting everyone and everything in gaming. I don’t care if you’re a fan in a forum or a member of the media — if you don’t think rationally for a moment, resist the temptation to spout off sensationalist nonsense, and make that key distinction between fantasy and reality, gaming will never get out of its cultural ghetto.
End o’ soapbox.
