Two studio executives who have been recently fired by Activision and accused of inappropriately meeting with a rival company say they will now create games to be distributed exclusively by one such competitor.

Jason West and Vince Zampella said Monday that they have formed a development studio, Respawn Entertainment, and its games will be published and distributed by Electronic Arts Inc.

The two had sued Activision Blizzard Inc. for more than $36 million in March, claiming that Activision fired them to avoid paying hefty royalties.

Last week, in a countersuit, Activision claimed the two had met with a key, unnamed gaming rival, in violation of their employment contract.