Call of Duty Trial Isn't Happening, Parties Settle [UPDATED]

Nice to know this whole thing is over.

@FinalDasa said:

So this could be viewed as an Activision loss?

They were so ready to go to court thinking they had the advantage and then turn back to just settle.

They got camped and sniped at spawn.

@umdesch4: Trust me, they'll still get paid.

Good old Activison rolling over. They tried to save as much face as they could. I hope West, Zampella and the rest of the team gouged Activison for as much as possible.

Does this mean that Respawn's new game will be announced this E3? Do I dare to Hope?

Man I was really looking forward to this going to trial

Wow, so what started so long ago is finally over?

So this could be viewed as an Activision loss?

They were so ready to go to court thinking they had the advantage and then turn back to just settle.

You think you're bummed Patrick? What about the lawyers? There goes that second mansion in the Hamptons...

Damn, this would have provided some good discussion fodder for the Bombcast.

Only Tim Langdell seems to deliver on gaming-related courtroom drama, huh?

Expected

God fucking damnit.

Damn, just missed the top, but in regards to the story, I am surprised this settled since both parties seemed to have genuine malice towards each other

Some people got PAID just now. West, Zampella and co. are likely much, much richer.

This probably saved a lot of the tax payers money but this would have been awesome to see play out.

So when can we find out exactly what happened and what the settlement was or is it behind an NDA?

Pretty anticlimactic but not a huge surprise.

Yeah, I'm thinking that money that Activision put aside for 'legal issues and unforeseen events' has now likely gone missing from their budget....

Man, what's Adam Sessler gonna do with his free time now?

Awww. Oh well.

Wut

Either way, it's a good thing Activision set aside ONE BEEEEEELLION dollars.

...and too bad Scoop got scooped out of lunch documents.

So they dumped the billions they had saved "Just in case..." I bet?

Awwwwwww I wanted to read those

Yep bummer man.

Too bad, there could have been some good drama. I guess Activision wouldn't risk losing the MW name.

But really ugly typo there, Patrick. Hardly the first time that has happaned. Ha! Ha! Do you get it?

UPDATE: Activision has issued a press release about the settlement, and while it doesn't include much that we didn't already know, it does mention the settlement will "not have a material impact" on the company's bottom line.

In other words: we probably won't end up finding out very much from Activision's SEC filings.

"The company does not believe that the incremental one-time charges related to the settlement will result in a material impact on its GAAP or non-GAAP earnings per share outlook for the current quarter or the calendar year, due to stronger-than-expected operating performance in the current quarter."

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The epic showdown in the courts between Activision, former Infinity Ward leaders Jason West and Vince Zampella, and nearly 40 employees who left after shipping Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 won't be happening.

Polygon reporter Mike McWhertor and LA Times reporter Ben Fritz have been attending the pre-trial shenanigans in Los Angeles, and both are reporting a settlement has been reached.

The trial had been scheduled to start this week. Details on the settlement will not be released.

According to Fritz, West was seen smiling in the courtroom as the news was announced.

Activision had previously disclosed it had set aside one billion dollars for the case, if the outcome went against Activision in the worst possible way. It's unclear if Activision will have to disclose any part of the settlement in the future as part of being a publicly traded company. The settlement between Activision and Electronic Arts has also been kept under wraps.

I'm really bummed. Think of all the court documents related to lunches I could have looked up!