Earlier today former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella announced their new development studio Respawn Entertainment. The pair has a fresh deal with EA Partners, which is Electronic Arts' third-party development program. We talked to the duo -- along with David DeMartini, senior vice president and general manager of EA Partners -- about their new studio and direction, as well as Activision.
It's been a while since you worked with EA, back at developer 2015 for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault in 2001. What's it like being back at EA? Are there things at EA that you thought had to change before you worked with them again?
Vince Zampella: This was not something planned, obviously, since we were fired. [laughs] The day after we were fired, we got a lot of interest, a lot of calls and emails from a lot of different publishers. We had meetings and got offers from a lot of those publishers, and what it came down to was what offered us the freedom to do what we wanted to do. The EA Partners deal -- we’ve never worked with EA Partners before -- ended up being something that was attractive to us.
Jason West: It [EA Partners] allowed us to form an independent studio, they gave us seed capital, and a publishing deal. So we’re Respawn Entertainment -- we’re totally independent, own the IP, and we control our own destiny -- and then EA has the exclusive on publishing our premier game, but we feel like we’re Respawn Entertainment. We think that working with EA is a great partnership for us.
You mentioned your "premier game," so is the deal for a single title or multiple games?
Zampella: We’re not being really specific on the terms of the deal. Right now we’re really focused on getting the company up and running. Right now it’s just Jason and I. We’re getting the word out there; we’re starting to hire people -- send resumes to jobs@respawn.com.
West: We’re going to build a team and build a game, and work with EA on that. And that’s absolutely the focus.
Do you have a timeline for when you'd like to be done hiring and start working on your first title, for example?
Zampella: As soon as possible. We’re hitting it hard today, getting the word out. We’ve got the seed capital. We’ve got the publishing deal. And now we’re ready to make the team and make something great.
The EA Partners structure is somewhat of a new way of doing business for EA. How’s it different than when Jason West and Vince Zampella worked with EA before with developer 2015?
David DeMartini: I think it is different. I think the thing that has changed is our approach to the business and trying to allow the independent developers to stay fiercely independent. One of the characteristics that is so refreshing about the best independent developers is their independence and their desire to go in their own direction, to control their IP, and control their own destiny to a certain extent. I think the Partners program has evolved from being in the front seat with our joint hands on the wheel to more or less the Partners team being happy to ride in the backseat and offer up direction help when asked. I think that’s only a slight nuance change, but I think it’s dramatically important to the partners that we sign that we actually do stay in the back seat, and largely shut up unless asked for directions. It’s very hard to steer a Ferrari with two people’s hands on the wheel, and these guys and many of our other partners are very expert drivers, and the last thing they need is for us mucking up the driving with our hands on the wheel.
Did this approach differentiate EA Partners from the other offers you received?
West: That was absolutely vital to us, to work with someone who would give us the freedom and independence and respect our culture so we could grow our studio and let the passion of the team shine through in the game.
Are there things in your culture or other factors with Respawn that will differentiate this company with Infinity Ward?
Zampella: It’s a delicate question, but the short answer is to do the right thing that's right for the fans. Make the game the vision of the team, and let it be uncompromising and the strongest it can absolutely be.
With your new IP, do you guys want to work in a different genre from the first-person shooters you've been known for? Does EA care what kind of game you make in the future?
Zampella: I won’t speak for EA, but on our side, the sky’s the limit, which is a good place to be where we’re pretty much open to exploring new ideas.
DeMartini: We moved into this partnership trusting the fellas' creative instincts and trusting their ability to build a triple-A, quadruple-A, whatever-the-next-A kind of team. They didn’t come to us with a specific concept that they were trying to sell. They came to us with a passion to make great games and building entertainment experiences that delight people. And it’s not about how many units get sold, it’s all about creating a great experience and then people will flock to it. That’s what they’ve done throughout their careers, and that’s what we’re counting on them doing going forward.
Will Respawn license its own engine technology as Respawn? Will it be made available to other EA studios?
West: At Respawn, we’re building everything. We're starting over -- a hard reset -- from the ground up. Nothing’s off the table, though. So, we’re going to build a team, and then we’re going to talk about how we want to approach things and how to go about doing that.
Zampella: Yeah. If it just makes sense to take a look at other tech that’s out there to save time, and gives us a good head start, then that’s what we’ll do.
DeMartini: Just one thing that I'll add is that I think the magic's in the team, and it’s not necessarily in the tech. If you look at all the different fantastic experiences out there, many of them are built on different kinds of technology, and it just kind of leads us to believe that if you get the right creators and put the right team in place, that’s what really makes the magic.
Is giving seed money to a brand-new company new for EA Partners, and is it a new way forward for the company?
DeMartini: Honestly, this structure isn’t particularly unique. I think every one of the deals is unique to be honest with you. Every one of the partners we hook up with there are slight nuances in every deal that we do. In this particular case, right now it’s a company of two people, and they’d like very quickly to make it a larger company than that, and anything we could provide to facilitate that is doing exactly what the EA Partners program is created to do, which is facilitate your partners’ success. So, like I said, whatever they need help with, we’re willing to step up and provide it.
You mentioned that you guys fielded a variety of offers. Choosing to go with EA likely fuels Activision's claim that when you were with them you were soliciting offers from other companies and therefore in breach of your contract with Activision. Do you have any comment on this timing?
DeMartini: I think the guys have made their position very clear: After they were fired, the got a whole bunch of different calls from a variety of people, and discussions took place.
Zampella: I think that’s the important distinction, that we were fired. We didn’t go out looking for a deal. [laughs]
West: We were on a contract, and if they didn’t fire us then there would be no Respawn.