The creators of the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty franchise have officially snubbed Activision by forming a new studio known as Respawn Entertainment.

Respawn – headed by Jason West and Vince Zampella – is expected to focus on creating “state-of-the-art gaming experiences” for global audiences.

The nascent studio has already signed a deal with Electronic Arts (EA) for the exclusive global publishing and distribution rights to future games.

“Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me. For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise,” explained Zampella, who is now General Manager of Respawn.

“We’re very proud of what we built – and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again – open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA.”

Unsurprisingly, Activision responded to the above-mentioned announcement by noting that West and Zampella were simply continuing their “improper activities.”

“This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against West and Zampella,” an Activision spokesperson told Destructoid.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Infinity Ward’s deep bench of proven talent on exciting new projects.”

As TG Daily previously reported, the creators of the Call of Duty (CoD) franchise recently sued Activision over an alleged unceremonious breach of contract and wrongful termination.

Activision later countered the suit by filing one of their own which accused the duo of “morphing from valued, responsible executives into insubordinate and self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack [the company’s] assets for their own personal gain.”