IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Modern Warfare Devs: 'The Sky's The Limit'

Posted April 12, 2010 by James Brightman

Following today's announcement about Respawn Entertainment and the new studio's exclusive agreement with Electronic Arts, IndustryGamers hopped on the phone with Vince Zampella, Jason West and EA Partners boss David DeMartini. Respawn can't really dive into specifics yet about what their next project might be, but Zampella, West and DeMartini indicated to us that really the "sky's the limit." Right now they're focused on building up a stellar development team, and then that team will factor heavily into what game they'll create next. Here's our full Q&A.

IndustryGamers: How did this all come together for you? Did EA reach out to you or did you contact them? I'm sure you had plenty of offers... 

Vince Zampella: Well, we were fired. Then, the next day our phone and e-mail were flooded with requests to talk with us. It came at a good time because it was obviously a tough time for us... People expressing interest was great for us because it helped us get through it. So we talked to numerous publishers, and there were offers on the table, and what it came down to was picking the deal that allowed us to have the freedom and control that we felt we need going forward.

Jason West: What it came down to was we wanted someone who would respect our independence and our culture, let us own the IP and put us in a position to maximize our success, so we can have a great team and control the brands and franchises that we want to make. 

David DeMartini: From EA's perspective, given the situation that the guys just came out of, what we're looking to do is provide some level of sanctuary so that they have the freedom to go ahead and start this thing up, hire the right kind of team, and take the time that's needed to develop the kinds of experiences that will absolutely delight people. 

VZ: It was important for us to get back to doing what we love. We can't sit idle; gaming's in our blood and we're happy to be back to it.

IG: In terms of the type of content we're going to see from Respawn, given your history with shooters and military style games, is it safe to say that it's going to fall within that category?

JW: Really, at this point the sky's the limit. All doors are open. We're going to get the team together and start there, and then we'll start kicking around ideas about where we want to go. And we do want to talk to our fanbase and include those guys early as well, and see what they're interested in us making.

IG: From the EA perspective, the company already has a number of shooters, including the Medal of Honor series, which Jason and Vince worked on years ago, and the Battlefield series... So what does this say from the EA side that the guys who used to work on Medal of Honor are now working with EA on something potentially very similar?

DD: We've entered into a relationship with Respawn without any predisposition about what kind of game they're going to be making. I think identifying their game as a shooter is taking a leap without any connecting of the dots. With regards to what it says to the internal EA teams, it just means that we're focused on making great games and last year we had a great year with our Metacritic higher than ever and our on-time delivery better than ever. What this is really all about isn't where the game gets made, whether internally or externally; it's about delivering something at the highest level of quality when we said we'd deliver it. What we're trying to do as a strategy at EA is deliver fewer things of higher quality with greater focus, because that's what the market is truly responding to. I think that's what this announcement is really all about. 

JW: The whole thing on the game really isn't a cop-out as it seems; part of our success has always been letting the team follow their passion and letting that shine through in the game. We think the fans of the gaming community respond to that. So it would be a little disingenuous to have game ideas before you have a team.

IG: Speaking of the team, are you actively talking with a lot of your colleagues back at Infinity Ward who perhaps would want to join you, or what is the recruiting process like?

JW: We're really just kicking off the recruitment process today and we'll announce the makeup of the team at the appropriate time. Check out Respawn.com!

IG: Have you given much thought to the upcoming motion controllers, Natal and Move, in terms of the types of games you might want to make?

JW: No, I think that would be premature to talk about. 

IG: I guess you'll say this is premature too, but in terms of platforms, obviously the types of games you've made have required high-end consoles, but are you looking at the Wii for future projects?

JW: Honestly, priority one right now is just focusing on hiring a team. Then, once we have that we'll evaluate [our options].

IG: The control of the Call of Duty IP was a big bone of contention between Activision and Infinity Ward, so with this new studio, I guess making sure you retain control of your IP was priority one, right?

JW: It was important to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself.

DD: What the guys expressed to us, as you would imagine coming out of a horrific situation like that, is they wanted control of their destiny and control for the destiny of the team. I think people forget that when you're in charge of something you have a lot of people's lives in your hands, and their future is kind of tied into your future. The guys wanted to have the ability to control IP, to move down a path independently, to form great ideas with the new team, and do what they've always done, which is to create great entertainment experiences. When we heard that story, that's something that's really compelling and we're really excited about, without any specific IP. It is unusual to sign someone without a specific idea, but these guys are highly unusual to begin with.

JW: Hopefully he meant that in a good way! [laughs]

DD: Absolutely! [more laughs]

IG: Considering what you guys went through at Infinity Ward and Activision, now that you're independent again with Respawn, would you ever consider a buyout in the future and your intention is to remain independent from now on?

JW: Well, we're just one day old right now, but we're not planning to put this out.

IG: Can you describe what the next several months will be like for you guys?

VZ: It's hard to say exactly what it's going to be like. Right now we don't have office space, we don't have a team – we don't have any picked yet – so this is a total reset. We're doing everything from scratch, building from the ground up. So the next few weeks we'll be looking at trying to find office space, starting to hire, putting everything in place just for the basic function of the studio.

IG: Can you talk about the name Respawn? Is that something where you look at it symbolically for respawning your career or you just thought it was a cool name because of the shooter terminology?

JW: It's all of those things... At the same time, it is a reset for us and a chance to start over and do something great. 

IG: It seems like developers often don't get credit for their games, and the issue of who controls the IP is constantly fought over. Do you feel like you're perhaps setting an example for the industry with Respawn? 

JW: Well, not intentionally. We were forced into this situation by being fired.

VZ: I think if publishers keep firing the guys who are heading up their top franchises, this will get more prevalent.

IG: Anything you want to add before we wrap up?

JW: We're just anxious to get the word out there that we're hiring.

VZ: It's really exciting to get back to what we're passionate about and make games again.

IG: Thanks guys, and best of luck to you.

James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer ever since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously the EIC of GameDaily Biz.