Activision goes to court over staff poaching accusations

Activision produces the hugely successful Call of Duty franchise

Games developer Activision is engaged in a legal battle with two directors whom the company accuses of trying to poach staff and ideas.

Jason West and Vincent Zampella, who lead the Infinity Ward studio responsible for the bet-selling Modern Warfare 2, were fired from Activision in March.

The pair sued, but Activision has countersued over claims that West and Zampella tried to poach ideas and staff from the parent company.

West and Zampella's attorney, Robert M. Schwartz, called the countersuit's claims "false and outrageous", according to a report on Reuters.

"None of the false claims of insubordination or breach of duties had any negative affect on Activision. None," Schwartz said in a statement. "Modern Warfare 2 has been the world's most successful video game."

The complaint states that West and Zampella "morphed from valued, responsible executives into insubordinate and self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack Activision's assets for their own personal gain and whose actions threatened the future of the Call of Duty franchise and future of Activision's [Infinity Ward] studio".