According to new documents released today, the ongoing legal battle between the creators of Call of Duty and the franchise's publishers is beginning to take its toll on those involved.
Last month, Activision sought to expand the scope of the lawsuit by including Electronic Arts, the publisher that is now home to the new studio run by Jason West and Vince Zampella, as party to the case.
New documents obtained by Kotaku today allege that Activision knew of EA's alleged involvement in the case over six months beforehand, and that by waiting until December 2010 to amend the case sought to have the beginning of the trial - scheduled for May - pushed back.
West and Zampella are protesting this expansion of the case and any possible delay, stating that the pair "are paying for this litigation from our own funds" and that to date the cost of the case has "[exceeded] our combined annual salaries".
In addition to the monetary issues, the duo also state that the amount of time the case is taking up is having an adverse effect on their attempts to get Respawn - which now employs "dozens" of employees - up and running.
In closing, they say "any delay of the trial in this lawsuit would increase the financial and non-financial burdens and would continue to distract us from running our business and earning a living."