Company Trying To Sue Activision Clearly Never Played Call Of Duty, Judge Calls Them Out

Several high profile legal cases have rocked the video games industry lately. Bungie was forced to file a lawsuit against a Destiny 2 player after they threatened to “burn down” the studio’s offices whilst Nintendo previously sent a hacker to prison, using the case as a “unique opportunity” to send a message to other hackers. Both of these cases reflect crimes that are very serious in nature. However, the latest court case to hit the headlines addresses the crime of not playing Call of Duty enough. Seriously.

In case you missed it, take a look at this ‘Dark Water’ gameplay level from the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.

As reported by Kotaku, a Southern California District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit made against Activision last month after decreeing that the plaintiffs hadn’t played enough Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare to make a case.

Reportedly, Activision was sued by Brooks Entertainment in November 2021. The California-based production company claimed that Activision ripped off and used elements of their mobile games Save One Bank and Stock Picker. Specifically, they claimed that Infinite Warfare copied their “scripted battle scenes that take place in a high fashion couture shopping centre mall.”

Additionally, Brooks Entertainment’s founder Shon Brooks alleged that Infinite Warfare’s ‘lead’ character Sean Brooks was based on him, noting that he owns the trademark to his name. During the trial, the judge noted that Sean Brooks wasn’t in fact the lead character and Infinite Warfare’s shopping mall scene takes place in a futuristic Geneva, which is very much unlike the setting of both Save One Bank and Stock Picker.

The judge essentially decided that Brooks Entertainment clearly hadn’t played enough Infinite Warfare and put forward a complaint that “contain[ed] serious factual misrepresentations and errors.” Eventually, Brooks Entertainment’s lawsuit was dismissed and the company was forced to pay Activision compensation for the time they’d wasted in court.

During the ruling, the court said, “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is a first-person shooter game, not first- and third-person as alleged, and Sean Brooks does not conduct a scripted battle scene in a high fashion couture shopping mall. Plaintiff’s counsel could have easily verified these facts prior to filing the factually baseless Complaint, just as the Court easily verified them within the first hour and a half of playing the game.” Lesson of the day, get your facts straight.