Ousted Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vincent Zampella are not done with the video game industry. The two are starting a new company, Respawn Entertainment under their formal rivals at Activision, EA.

The former Infinity Ward execs are currently involved in a lawsuit with Activision over their termination earlier this year.

"Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me," Zampella said in a statement. "For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We're very proud of what we built – and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again — open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA."

"We're excited," West said. "Now that the team is in control of the games and brands, we can ensure that the fans are treated as well as they deserve."

According to the release,  "the company will focus on creating state-of-the-art gaming experiences for global audiences." but offered no details on what the new games would be about.

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The drama continues in the Infinity Ward/Activision saga as reports are surfacing that ousted Infinity Ward studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella are suing Activision. According to Joystiq, the lawsuit is seeking compensation as well as contractual rights to the Modern Warfare brand for what they claim to be wrongful termination.

"Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public," attorney Robert Schwartz stated, "last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of 'insubordination' and 'breach of fiduciary duty,' which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st."

Rumors state that Activision fired the pair before substantial royalty payments were made on the successful Modern Warfare 2. SEC filings claim that Activision is conducting an internal investigation on the insubordination of two employees.

Jason West and Vince Zampella are responsible for the creation of Call of Duty and are the co-founders of Infinity Ward. Activision bought Infinity Ward in 2003 after the success of the game.

UPDATE: Suit documents have been posted online. Below is one of such pages:

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Drama is unfolding at Infinity Ward as reports of security outside headquarters and SEC filings fuel gossip that Jason West and Vince Zampella have been let go. Jason West and Vince Zampella were both executives and co-founders of Infinity Ward.

Jason and Vince were seen meeting with Activision with security present earlier this morning. An SEC filing by Activision states: "The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward. This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation. At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company."

Snooping into Jason West's Facebook and LinkedIn pages he lists his work with Infinity Ward as "past".

Additionally, one of 1Up.com's sources inside Infinity Ward has said that Activision is "flexing their muscles" against the studio, which is attempting to "push back against change."

Infinity Ward was acquired by Activision in October 2003 after the success of Call of Duty.

A little behind of the Games of 2010, but there's still a couple months until March, right? Plenty of time for more push-backs and cancellations. March is packed full of goodies including Battlefield: BC2, Final Fantasy XIII, RE5: Gold Edition, God of War III, and more.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (March 2nd, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Sequel to EA Dice's 2008's Battlefield: Bad Company, this takes place in snowy moutains, dense jungles and sandy deserts. The game will have blood in it, and feature destructible environments. Multiplayer lets players choose set of weapon kits before each spawn, and allows them to take the "dog tags" of opponents killed.

Supreme Commander 2 (March 2nd, 2010) PC, Xbox 360 (3/16)
Real-time strategy game sequel to 2007's Supreme Commander from Square Enix, withfuturistic pieces. Players can experience "brutal battles on a massive scale" by "creating enormous customizable armies and experimental war machines".

Final Fantasy XIII (March 9, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360
The newest masterpiece in Square Enix's Final Fantasy collection and the first to be available on Xbox 360. It will be available on multiple discs for Xbox 360, and is said to max out the power of the PS3. FFXIII is already available in Japan.

Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition (March 9, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360
The Gold Edition will include a hard copy the two new episodes, costumes, and a Mercenaries Mode Refresh with 8 new playable characters called "Mercenaries Reunion". The first of the new episodes, "Lost in Nightmares" will follow Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield's investigation of Umbrella founder Ozwell Spencer in his hideaway. It will also include the original game and run for $49.99.

Resonance of Fate (March 9, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360
A Japanese RPG from Sega that takes place in the distant future. The game utilizes a tri-Attack-Battle (t-A-B) system that's semi-realtime with a mixture of real-time and turn-based battles. It will be available in Japan at the end of January.

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight (March 16, 2010) PC
The latest installment of the Command & Conquer series, C&C4 will require players to be online at all times regardless of singleplayer mode or online play. Unlike previous games, C&C4 doesn't require players to gather resources to build an army. Players will capture control nodes that are scattered across maps and control more nodes than the enemy to gain points to win. It will feature about 90 units, and take place in the Tiberium Universe.

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (March 16, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360, PC
The first official expansion for the RPG Dragon Age: Origins. Set in Amaranthine, the player can import their original character or start over as a Warden from Orlais. The expansion includes new content, more storyline, 5 new/1 old recruitable party members, new spells and abilities, raise in level cap, new items and more.

Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver (March 14, 2010) DS
Yeah, a new Pokemon game for DS. Woo...hoo...

Just Cause 2 (March 23, 2010) PS3 Xbox 360
A sandbox style action game and a sequel to 2006 Just Cause. Just Cause 2 uses a new version of Avalanche Engine, which was used in the original. Gameplay is similar to that of the Grand Theft Auto series where players aren't forced to focus on the storyline.

God of War III (March 2010) PS3
The latest installment of the series featuring Kratos. Technically, God of War III is the fifth, and final, chapter in the series. the singleplayer game should be similar to that of its predecessors. The game will run in full 1080p, and supports Sixaxis tilt and vibration functions.

Yakuza 3 (March 2010) PS3
Originally released in Japan as Like a Dragon 3, Yakuza 3 is a sequel to Yakuza 2, and the fourth installment of the Yakuza series. This PS3 exclusive by Sega features singleplayer and 2-player games, and 50 Playstation Network trophies. The story spans twelve chapters plus a prologue which are completed with 133 unique side stories ("sub-scenarios"). The game also features an "Underground Arena" battlemode.

<< January Edition << February Edition

If you missed it, we did a January Edition of Games to Come 2010 a couple weeks ago. The new releases for the year have wound down to a dribble and we can only play the games we've purchased in 2009 and look forward to what lays ahead in 2010!

February

Bioshock 2 (February 9, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Bioshock 2 is the FPS sequel to 2007's Bioshock. In this game, players assume the role of the FIRST Big Daddy and run around harvesting Little Sisters. The big baddy in this game? Big Sister. Multiplayer will also be coming to this Rapturous sequel.

Lost Planet 2 (February 2, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360 NOTE: Delay just announced

Lost Planet 2 is the sequel to Japan's 2007 third-person-shooter/RPG Lost Planet. Events take place 10 years after the first game in a tropical environment instead of the original's snowy landscape. Players play as Snow Pirates thrown in the fight between corporation NEVEC and insect-like Akrids. The game will include single-player, online co-op and multiplayer modes

Dante's Inferno (February 9, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360, PSP

Dante's Inferno is a singleplayer, third-person action/adventure game based loosely on the poem, Inferno, the first part in Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Gameplay has been likened to that of God of War. Players play as protaganist Dante, as he navigates through the Nine Circles of Hell to rescue his beloved. Travel through Hell alone in this single-player game.

Splinter Cell: Conviction (February 23, 2010) Xbox 360, PC

The fifth in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series, Conviction takes place two years after the events of Splinter Cell: Double Agent, with players playing as character Sam Fisher. It will have new features such as a "mark and execute" feature and a new cooperative campaign.

Napoleon: Total War (February 26th, 2010) PC

Napoleon: Total War is a turn-based strategy/real-time tactics video game for PC and the next installment of the Total War series. It will have three campaigns and include single and multiplayer modes and Steam achievements.

Star Trek: Online (February 2, 2010) PC

Star Trek: Online is an MMORPG taking place in the Star Trek Universe. Players will Captain their own ship, build up their characters with race and professions of their choice, and take part in space and ground combat.

<<< January Edition             March Edition >>>

With 2009 wrapping up and exciting new releases dwindling, we can take a look ahead to see what the 2010 gaming gods have to offer us.

January

 

Mass Effect 2 (January 26, 2010) Xbox 360, PC

Mass Effect 2 is the upcoming sequel to 2007 Mass Effect. This action RPG takes place two years after the conclusion of Mass Effect, and follows Commander Shepard and his crews galaxy gallivanting ways as they try to stop new threats and new enemies.

 

Army of Two: The 40th Day (January 12, 2010) Xbox 360, PS3, PSP (January 8th for Europe)

Army of Two returns in all of its fist-bumping glory in the new sequel, Army of Two: The 40th Day. Gameplay is said to be enhanced in the cooperative third-person shooter that includes abilities to feign surrender in order to outflank enemies and use human shields. Multiplayer play is also significantly upgraded including client-server connections, increased participants and region-free play.

 

Bayonetta (January 5, 2010) Xbox 360, PS3

This action game featuring a sinewy, glasses-wearing witch, was directed by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya. The game is currently available in Japan. Bayonetta takes place in a fictional European city with the main character a witch who awakens after 500 years with no memory of what had happened. Her abilities include shapeshifting and gun-shooting as she fights angelic and warrior-like enemies.

 

Darksiders (January 5, 2010) Xbox 360, PS3

This PS3 and Xbox 360 game, developed by Vigil Games, takes inspiration from the apocalypse and Battle of Armageddon as described in the Book of Revelations. In this combat game, players take on the role of War, one of the four horsemen. The world has met an early demise, and War is blamed for this occurrence and stripped of most of his powers. He is sentenced to walk the desolate earth forever. War determines that while he is down there he should find out why the apocalypse has come early and also find the missing horsemen.

 

Dark Void (January 12, 2010) PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Dark Void is an action adventure game that follows a cargo pilot, William Augustus Grey, who crashes in the Bermuda triangle and is teleported to a parallel universe. Here he meets humans, called Survivors and must help them battle an alien race known as the Watchers. He is fitted with technology to help aid the fight including a hover pack.

MAG (January 26, 2010) PS3

MAG, or Massive Action Game, is a MMO shooter for the PS3. The game takes place in 2025 where the world is globalized and nations armies are not allowed to leave their borders. Private Military Corporations (PMCs) come into favor. The game uses new server architecture that supports online battles with up to 256 players. Users are divided into 8-player squads, four squads forms a platoon, and four platoons form a company.

No More Heroes 2 (January 27, 2010) Wii

No More Heroes 2 is an action game for the Wii system, and a follow-up to 2008’s No More Heroes. Protagonist Travis Touchdown returns in an equally nutty, adult tale. He has fallen from the ranks of the assassin’s group UAA (United Assassins Association), and is prodded to return by a former fellow agent.

On to Games 2010 - February Edition>>>

In a little over two years, museum buffs will be exposed to the wonder of video games. The Art of Video Games will show the development of visual effects in video games from Atari to PS3, and also explore social influences and popular culture on video games. The exhibit will open in March of 2012 in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Per the announcement Smithsonian Website:

The Art of Video Games

March 16, 2012 – September 9, 2012

Video games have grown to become a significant part of our culture since the introduction of the first home video games in the early 1970s. More than seventy percent of American households play video games on a regular basis, and many families now have two generations of computer users, and gamers, at home.

Video games use images, actions, and player participation to tell stories and engage their audiences. In the same way as film, animation, and performance, they can be considered a compelling and influential form of narrative art.

Many museums have explored art inspired by video games, but this exhibition will be the first to examine comprehensively the evolution of video games themselves as an artistic medium. From the Atari VSC to the Playstation 3, The Art of Video Games will show the development of visual effects and aesthetics during four decades, the emergence of games as a means for storytelling, the influence of world events and popular culture on game development, and the impact that the games can have on society. It will include multimedia presentations of game footage, video interviews with developers and artists, large prints of in-game screen shots, historic game consoles, and a selection of working game systems for visitors to play. In addition, the public will be asked to assist with the selection of materials for the show by choosing the games that they feel best represent particular moments in the overall timeline.

Chris Melissinos, video game industry expert and founder of PastPixels, is the guest curator of the exhibition.