Activision has filed a countersuit against former Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella. The suit claims the publisher was justified in its firings, calling the two "self-serving schemers."

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The countersuit is in response to a lawsuit filed against the company by West and Zampella last month after the two were fired from Infinity Ward."West and Zampella morphed from valued, responsible executives into insubordinate and self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack Activision's assets for their own personal gain and whose actions threatened both the future of the call of Duty franchise and the future of Activsion's Infinity Ward studio," the suit states.Despite being under contract with Activision, the publisher claims both West and Zampella hired agents and attorneys to negotiate with third parties for future financial arrangements. The suit also says the two embarked on a "secret trip by private jet" to Northern California to meet with "the most senior executives of Activision's closest competitor."Activision also claims West and Zampella were planning on leaving to open their own studio. The publisher says the two had attempted to prevent Activision from awarding additional bonuses to Infinity Ward employees to order to "make these employees easier to poach" for their new company.Other allegations include West and Zampella were "holding future editions of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare Activision believes West and Zampella informed Infinity Ward employees they intended to leave Activision and "discussed with some Infinity Ward team members whether they would leave Activision and participate in a spin-off company that would not be affiliated with Activision."The countersuit published several messages sent and received between West and Zampella while they were in talks with "Activision's competitors.""Dunno how to scan secretely [sic]. . . . [IW Employee's] computer down. . . . [IW Employee] did it for me last time. .. .Really. No paranoia about it being in [IW employee] user folder? Her comp down anyway now. . . . She had a secret area it scanned into. . . . Probably better to just photocopy and fedex. .. .Can scan or photo - your call. . . . Boom boom pow. Away."After being fired, the suit states West and Zampella "refused to sign standard exit documents representing that they had returned all Activision property, including computer code, and would honor the confidentiality obligations that they have to Activision."Activision has released a statement that was given to IGN:"Activision's cross-complaint filed today against Jason West and Vince Zampella makes clear that the company did not arrive at its decision to fire them lightly or without good reason," the statement said."It further shows Activision was forced to sever the relationship when it became apparent that long-standing attempts failed to convince West and Zampella to conform their conduct to what was required of them by their contracts, company policies and as fiduciaries."Robert Schwartz, the attorney for West and Zampella, was unable to comment at this time.Click the image below to see the entire countersuit claim.We'll keep you updated as we hear more.