Activision has filed a Cross Complaint against former Infinity Ward executives Vince Zampella and Jason West, claiming it was left with no recourse but to “sever the relationship.”

Infinity Ward is the developer of the best-selling game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. On March 1, Zampella and West were fired due to “breaches of contract and insubordination.”

According to a statement given to IGN by Activision this weekend, the publisher had attempted to convince West and Zampella to conduct themselves in the manner dictated by their contracts but after failing to do so were ultimately forced to let them go.

It further claims that the two were in talks with Activision competitors and discussed creating a spin-off company with some Infinity Ward staff.

“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,” said the statement.

“Activision’s cross-complaint filed [Saturday, NZT] 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.

“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.”

The 23 page complaint includes several emails that it says demonstrate that Zampella and West had hired an agent who could “secretly contact the CEO and other senior executives of Activision’s largest competitor.”

“Dunno how to scan secretly 13 [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.”

Robert M. Schwartz, the attorney representing West and Zampella has called the claims by Activision false, “inaccurate and misguided,” saying instead that Activision refused to pay out the millions owed to Infinity Ward following the success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

“Activision’s inaccurate and misguided allegations lose sight of the reality here: None of the false claims of insubordination or breach of duties had any negative effect on Activision — none,” he said.

“Modern Warfare 2 has been the world’s most successful video game. And none of this changes the fact that Jason and Vince would still be at Infinity Ward developing new games except that Activision kicked them out.

“This is just an Activision tactic to avoid paying Jason and Vince and everyone else at Infinity Ward the millions of dollars they all earned and that Activision owes them. Since being fired by Activision, Jason and Vince have taken steps to regain control over their creative future and plan to have an announcement very soon.”

West and Zampella are currently suing Activision for USD $36 million and the rights to the Modern Warfare franchise.