Ex-IW staffer: 'Zampella is a visionary'

A former Infinity Ward staff member has described sacked studio co-founder Vince Zampella as a "visionary".

According to G4, Call Of Duty 2 production coordinator Jesse Heinig said in a message on Zampella's LinkedIn profile that his achievements are "legendary" in the video games industry.

"I had the pleasure of working briefly for Vince and seeing his skills first-hand. Vince's history in the game development business should already be legendary," said Heinig, who is now a freelance writer at RPG developer White Wolf.

"Vince is one of the few professionals that I'd call a visionary, in the most fundamental sense of the word: he has a powerful vision and he organises a team to see it through. [He] knows the ins and outs of what makes gameplay fun and engaging, not just a cost analysis."

Last month, Activision removed Infinity Ward studio head Zampella and president Jason West following alleged "insubordination". The two men subsequently filed a law suit against the publishing giant on grounds of breach of contract.

Also in the LinkedIn post, Heinig discussed a rumour in the industry that EA is prepared to pay a hefty fee to secure the services of West and Zampella. Both men previously worked on EA's acclaimed Medal of Honour: Allied Assault before leaving to set up Infinity Ward.

"Don't just take my word for it. Rumour in the industry is that EA placed a million-dollar bounty for snapping up any IW studio lead, like Vince," said Heinig.

"Just the fact that the rumour is out there should speak volumes about how badly people want Vince working on their products."

Meanwhile, Activision today confirmed that the Stimulus Pack DLC for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has surpassed 2.5 million downloads in its first week.