NEWS - Thursday, April 29, 2010
No Activision Publishing President Mike Griffith
Activision Blizzard has confirmed that Activision Publishing CEO and president Mike Griffith has resigned from both of his roles, effective April 23. While Griffith has stepped down from his current positions, he’ll remain with Activision Blizzard in a new role as vice chairman of the board of directors.
According to MCV, his new position as vice chairman will have Griffith taking on a more active role in the board and internal strategy meetings. His original contract with Activision was to end on June 30, but his new contract for his new role extends to June of next year, with the contract set to automatically renew for another year after that.
No reason was given for Griffith’s resignation from his current roles as head of Activision’s publishing arm. While there’s nothing about the announcement indicating they’re related, it is of course worth noting the move comes amid the flurry of staffers leaving Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward following the ouster of former studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, with many ex-staffers joining West and Zampella’s new studio, Respawn...which is being funded by Activision Blizzard rival Electronic Arts.
A group of 38 Infinity Ward employees are also now suing Activision, alleging the publisher has refused to pay $75 million to $125 million in royalties owed to them in order to force them to stay and finish development on Modern Warfare 3.
Source: http://www.1up.com
