7 Legal Decisions That Changed Gaming History

2. West & Zampella Vs. Activision (How Call Of Duty Lost Its Identity)

Less overarching mechanics and more the state of multiple franchises, the case of Jason West and Vince Zampella vs. Activision is almost legend at this point.

Coming after West and Zampella (two pioneering creatives who worked at Infinity Ward on various Call of Dutys, including Modern Warfare) secretly met with EA to discuss setting up a new studio, they were sued by Activision for breach of contract.

Things quickly turned ugly when allegations of employee treatment were thrown in to justify West and Zampella's decision, but ultimately, EA settled with Activision out of court. West and Zampella then formed Respawn Entertainment with EA, and the ramifications from this case still have repercussions for millions of fans.

Not only did Call of Duty as a franchise lose its creative driving force, but because Respawn's first game was set to be the sci-fi FPS Titanfall, Activision looked to counter this by changing Call of Duty to focus on futurism and hyper-kinetic movement.

Of course, Titanfall's assumed success didn't come, nor did the franchise even really catch on whatsoever, leaving Call of Duty to struggle with its science fiction focus to this day.