Activision fights Back, Sues Former ‘Modern Warfare’ execs

By Ian Bell April 11, 2010

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Activision has countersued two former studio heads overseeing the blockbuster game “Modern Warfare 2,” claiming they were insubordinate and tried to damage the company.

The lawsuit filed Thursday is in response to a claim by former Infinity Ward executives Jason West and Vince Zampella, who sued Activision for more than $36 million earlier this year.

Activision’s suit claims West and Zampella held up development on other “Call of Duty” games to try to gain more money. The company is seeking to withhold additional payments to the men, who they claim also kept bonuses from Infinity Ward employees.

West and Zampella’s attorney did not immediately respond to a phone message Friday.

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” was one of last year’s best-selling video games.

News dropped in March of this year that Activision would be firing the two employees citing insubordination. Quickly following their departure, both executives followed up with a lawsuit claiming the two were let go so Activision could stop having to pay royalties. The mud is still fresh and the slinging has just begun.

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The last thing anyone wants to see when booting up a game like Modern Warfare 3 to head online with your friends is to be stopped by an error. Online games are susceptible to all types of problems beyond the player's control, leading to plenty of frustration and disappointment in a possibly ruined experience. While there are more substantial issues that can completely prevent you from playing, seeing the packet burst issue is almost worse because, while it does let you play, you will experience a ton of lag that makes the game essentially unplayable. If you've been struck by a packet burst error in Modern Warfare 3, here are some possible solutions so you can get back to fragging.
How to fix packet burst errors

If you spot a symbol of three squares on the left of your screen while playing Modern Warfare 3, it means you're suffering from a packet burst. This is essentially an error where something is messed up in the communication between your system and the game's servers, resulting in terrible performance. While it could be simply an issue on the server side and not related to you at all, which you can check by looking at the Modern Warfare 3 server status here, there are a few things you can do to potentially fix the issue on your end.

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If you're excited at the prospect of playing split screen in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, we've got good news: You can! Even better news is that it's a straightforward and easy task to accomplish. All you'll need to ensure is that you have two controllers and that both usernames have been linked to their own Activision accounts. Once you've scored both controllers and gotten your accounts squared away, though, you'll only need to follow a few simple steps to start playing together.