In 2005, Activision and Spark Unlimited went to court. While it's has now become a common thing in the gaming world to have litigation, Spark Unlimited is an interesting case because it correlates to recent news. Spark Unlimited were the devs who first brought Call of Duty to consoles on the PS2 and Xbox with Finest Hours. S.U.'s originating lawsuit with Activision stemmed over :
To which Activision counter-sued on the grounds of
- Activision threatened to stop funding the games unless Spark agreed to accept fewer royalties and other less-favorable terms.
- Activision charged Spark millions in assistance costs that Spark did not approve.
- Activision did not negotiate in good faith regarding sequels.
- Activision did not provide meaningful bridge funding.
- Activision hired away some of Spark’s employees.
While we will probably never know the full gist of what is happening at Infinity Ward, I was struck with a sense of dissonance hearing the news this week at how five years ago the same situation took place.
- Spark misrepresented that it had the necessary talent, knowledge, skill and experience to develop the games.
- Activision paid Spark’s legal fees to defend against Electronic Arts’ accusation that Spark stole trade secrets and confidential information from EA.
- Spark repeatedly failed to meet its milestones, even when Activision provided substantial support.
- Spark’s proposal for a sequel was half-hearted and deficient.
- Spark failed to return development kits and computers containing source code to Activision.
- Spark breached its confidentiality obligations when it filed the lawsuit.
Those thatfail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. - Winston Churchill
If you are interesting in reading more about Sparks Unlimited/ Activision case, read more here.
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