THQ engaged in "very serious discussions" with Jason West and Vince Zampella after the pair parted ways with Activision and Infinity Ward, reports IndustryGamers in an excerpt from their interview with THQ Core Games VP Danny Bilson. West and Zampella's new studio Respawn Entertainment ultimately signed with EA, so it should be no surprise that they were courted by other major publishers. Bilson expresses belief they would have been the best destination because of how developer-friendly they are, and coyly says they will be announcing prominent developer signings over the next six months. Interestingly, the apparent sticking point that prevented them signing Respawn is THQ's insistence on owning all intellectual property. "The only thing we have to have and insist on is ownership of the intellectual property. That’s sort of the deal breaker for me. So, we have to own the IP, but I believe in the Hollywood model, which is that, the bigger the artist, the more important, the more successful they are, the bigger share they get. Just like in Hollywood. But you know, most of the biggest talents in Hollywood don’t own their IPs. It doesn’t work that way. My job coming to this company was to build an IP library, which builds value in THQ. So that means having a developer own the IP becomes a deal-breaker," he tells them. ""That is fantastic for them if they can get away with it. They can’t come here with that. And I don’t need them if that’s the deal, and they’re not a business I want to be in."