Confirming recent rumours that Call of Duty co-creator Jason West had left the new development studio he co-founded have now reportedly been confirmed, in a statement issued by fellow executive, Vince Zampella.

Both West and Zampella were co-founders of Infinity Ward, the widely acclaimed creator of the hugely successful Call of Duty series, before being dismissed by Activision in 2010 under allegations of subterfuge --a dispute that was later settled out of court (via Kotaku):

Jason has left Respawn to take care of some family issues. We have worked together on some amazing accomplishments over the years, starting with an early Segasoft project that never shipped. It is sad to see things come to an end, but there are times when change is best for growth, both personally and professionally. I wish Jason the best and send my best wishes to his family. Respawn continues to amaze me, the team here is resilient and talented. E3 will be therapeutic for us, as we finally get to start showing our work again. I know the team was excited about the response we got from just admitting we were going to attend.

-Vince

Prior reports from several publications, including Kotaku and Polygon, claimed that West had actually been gone since May 2012, and Kotaku claims that West had not been involved in development of the studio's first game, which is expected to be unveiled at E3 2013 in June.