Report: Infinity Ward bosses removed from studio

Two senior members of staff have been marched out of the Infinity Ward studio following accusations by Activision of contract breaches and insubordination, according to reports this morning.

Sources at the Modern Warfare studio told G4 that security turned up and removed chief creative officer Vince Zampella and CTO Jason West, to the confusion of staff.

A SEC filing made earlier today by Activision said a human resources investigation had been initiated into "breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward", although the employees being investigated were not named.

"The matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation," read the filing. "At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company."

The pair reportedly subsequently met with Activision and haven't been seen by Infinity Ward staff members since then.

West's involvement appears to have been confirmed by a Facebook status update he published after the meeting, which stated: "Jason West is drinking. Also, no longer employed."

Zampella and West were among the founding members of Infinity Ward who had previously worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for EA.

At Infinity Ward, they created the immensely successful Call of Duty series for Activision and continued to develop key entries in the series, culminating in the recent smash hits Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.

Infinity Ward is currently preparing to release Modern Warfare 2 DLC, due out this spring, and was thought to be beginning work on a new IP.

Activision has told GamesIndustry.biz that it has no comment to make at this time.