According to the countersuit, there was a lot of email back and forth between both Zampella and West with EA head Riccitiello.
As we all know, once you send an email it is based on a server forever. You can't just delete them and not expect them to be found if dug for hard enough. This is equivalent to a paper trail where no matter how much you shred it, someone can always take the time to piece it back together and use it against you in a lawsuit.
Emotions aside, if there is email evidence of West and Zampella emailing Riccitiello about projects Activision was doing at the time in 2009, then I see no way they retain any right to Call of Duty whatsoever. As for the royalties, if Activision withheld because they believed West and Zampella were conspiring with EA and the head of EA, Riccitiello, then I don't see West and Zampella getting a single penny because they broke the contract.
This is contract law we are discussing here. If one party breaks the contract, then the contract is broken, they are owed nothing, and they go their own way. Reading both complaints, it is hard not to see that West and Zampella did not break their contract with Activision.
If Activision, after West and Zampella left, refused to pay out the performance bonuses to the remaining IW members, then that is just shady. Then again, Activision would claim since they are in the midst of a lawsuit with West and Zampella along with senior members of IW leaving, then those bonuses are not under contract because the contract has been broken rendering any promised bonus a gift from Activision to IW instead of a legally, binding contractual one.
Source: http://kotaku.com/5485703/ousted-infinity-ward-founders-lawsuit-against-activision-the-court-documents/gallery/
Source: http://kotaku.com/5715854/call-of-duty-giant-suing-rival-over-modern-warfare-meltdown-paints-uglier-picture
