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A close-knit development studio losing its leader (or leaders) to shenanigans is, usually, a situation that eventually has additional fallout. We saw it with Team Ninja after Itagaki quit, with handfuls of employees walking out, and now it rumor has it there would be numerous staffers calling it qits at Infinity ward.. were it not for the fact that Activision owes them money.

Kotaku reported this week that, according to sources, "Activision is delaying paying Infinity Ward employees their royalties" from Modern Warfare 2 -- a matter that was central to the lawsuit against the publisher filed by former bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella. The duo alleged that Activision fired them earlier this month "in the hopes that by doing so, it could avoid paying them what they had rightfully earned, and seize control of the Infinity Ward studio, to which Activision had previously granted creative control over all Modern Warfare-branded games and had, apparently, decided it no longer wanted to live with."

The first of these royalty payments was reportedly due on March 31st. The sources speaking with Kotaku claim the rest of the studio are currently awaiting their royalties -- a total significantly more than what their actual salaries were -- but that the publisher "continues to delay" the payments "in order to keep them at the company. The morale at Infinity Ward is reportedly extremely low."

Damn. Now of course, this hasn't been confirmed or denied by Activision, or the Activision execs heading up IW now, at this time, so we'll have to see how this plays out.

[Update]: Activision state that it "doesn't comment on industry rumor or speculation."

Earlier this week Bungie Studios, LLC, soon to be the former makers of Halo (for a while), tradmarked this interesting little number, found by superannuation. Bungie Aerospace, as it's called, is described in the mark as:

"Computer game software downloadable from a global computer network; Computer game software for personal computers and home video game consoles; Computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones; Computer software, namely, game engine software for video game development and operation; Interactive game software; Video game software."

A few initially speculated that this might be referring to Bungie's next, post-Halo: Reach original IP, but judging from that description it sounds like Bungie are pushing forward with prepping their own, potentially licensable, proprietary toolset. They certainly have invested a lot of time and effort into "gutting" and rebuilding the Reach engine to scrap it and start over again. And if it delivers on what they're promising, it might be another viable alternative for developers over things like Unreal 3.

Either that, or Bungie are disguising their plans to build a rocket.

Warner Bros. have something secret in the works that they're not telling us about just yet, but The Jace Hall Show got a five second sneak peek at the project, and posted it for all to see.

Fast-forward to the 15:00 mark, and get set to ogle the criminally brief glimpse at a unannounced first-person shooter. Hmm, what could it be? Obviously there's the possibility of it being a new IP, because lord knows we don't have enough unique shooters yet. But looking at WB's history of releases and current franchises, there's also the chance that this might be a soon-to-be-announced sequel. Currently the publisher only has F.E.A.R. and Condemned as their tentpole FPS properties, and the visual style of the footage definitely fits with one of those.

Maybe this is F.E.A.R. 3. Or maybe it's that mysterious Project Hades. Then again, who knows.

No solid gameplay footage of Crytek's astounding looking Crysis sequel has hit public eyes yet (plenty of screens have), but that ended, in a way, at GDC this week.

The developer was on hand to show off their multiplatform CryENGINE 3 tech, and to do so they showcased snippets of Crysis 2 on consoles, giving us glimpses at firefights, destructible environments, enemy AI and more. Looks really good so far. Keep in mind that what you're seeing in off-screen, so the actual game won't be as blurry. Hopefully we get some hands-on time at E3.

Crysis 2 is due out later this year.

Speaking with Joystiq at GDC, THQ's executive VP of Core Games said that over the next year "up to six" downloadable tiles will be published, some based on or in a few "core brands" the company produces.

Both THQ Digital Studios Phoenix and THQ Digital Studios UK will be behind the new titles -- none of which were named or announced -- but Danny Bilson states this is a move to get the consumer more "involved" in their franchises; to get more brand awareness out there, similar to things like Fable II's Pub Games, or even the upcoming Tomb Raider precursor, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.

Not everything will be paid-for, though, as it was noted there are plans to offer up free experiences. One has to speculate as to which brands this could apply to. So far we know that sequels to Darksiders, Saint's Row and Red Faction are on the way in the near future, the latter two being perfect for small bit-sized titles to draw you in. and better yet: what exactly are we looking at here, in terms of product?

"You're going to see some of our core brands built out in different kinds of gameplay to get people involved in the brands and drive awareness towards a launch," he said.

During tonight's Game Developer's Choice Awards at GDC 2010, Eidos and Square-Enix did the expected, and dropped the first trailer for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Details on the actual game are scant right now, as all we're given is a brief, al-CGI teaser, but damn if it doesn't get your gears turning with ideas. The one thing we do know is the game is set in Detroit.

Dare I say it? This might be the finest CG work that Square-Enix Japan have done yet.

[Update]: IGN sat down with the game's director, Jean-Francois Duga for a quick chat, where a few tiny tidbits of info were revealed.

"Deus Ex 1 and 2 varied a bit in what those core aspects were -- ultimately, we decided to emulate the first game more; as mentioned, we no longer have unified ammunition and we are returning to an inventory system reminiscent of the first game. We also wanted to ensure that our levels are larger and more open than in Invisible War (i.e. Hong Kong in Deus Ex 1)," he says.

"In terms of being a Deus Ex game, we keep the core gameplay essence alive: that being a hybrid of action-RPG in which the core gameplay mechanics revolve around combat, stealth, hacking, and social aspects. The gameplay is largely designed around giving the player choices which have consequences; the core values are centered on letting players play the game the way they want."

He adds that the "game world is designed around a multi-path, multi-solution approach" with two primary gameplay styles: combat and stealth, and two supporting styles: hacking and social interactions. Deus Ex: HR will also not feature multiplayer of any sort, with all resources going into crafting a non-photrealistic (except in cutscenes) campaign. "...the development team wanted to focus purely on the single-player experience to ensure we delivered on that front.”

And so the era of paid-DLC for Mass Effect 2 begins. The free Firewalker add-on, with awesome new Hammerhead vehicle missions, is on tap for later this month, but April will see a brand new party member being introduced to the cast of colorful teammates in BioWare's space epic.

As was rumored and leaked a few months ago, Kasumi, a human female thief from the Citadel, gets her own mission in "Kasumi's Stolen Memory," pegged for April 6th and a currently undetermined prince point. Most likely around the neighborhood of 400 MS Points. BioWare call the package "some of the best stuff we’ve done" yet for the game.

Shepard touches base with Kasumi either after you've completed the suicide mission and have opted to continue scouting the galaxy, or during your current playthrough's quest log. "Once recruited, Shepard aids Kasumi on a secretive mission of recovery, which requires a suave disguise and a run-in with an influential and predictably corrupt art collector."

In addition to a new squad mate, the DLC also brings with it a new Locust SMG, flash-bang grenade, unique loyaty power called Shadowcloak, and a new Achievement. Joystiq report that the mission clocks in at around an hour and a half.