No Respawn-ing at E3

Earlier this month, Valve Corporation announced it wasn't attending the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Now, another major independent developer has announced that it, too, will be skipping the all-important game industry confab, which runs from June 7-9.

"For those asking, Respawn won't be making any announcements at #E3 this year," read the official Twitter feed of Respawn Entertainment this afternoon. "We will be wandering the floor though!"

Respawn's announcement pushes the reveal of the nascent shop's first title farther into the future. The Los Angeles-based studio was founded in April 2010 following Activision's firing of Infinity Ward's two founders, Jason West and Vince Zampella, for "insubordination" that March. Tit-for-tat lawsuits followed, including one that named Electronic Arts as a co-defendant in a $400 million legal action.

In the weeks after West and Zampella's dismissal, several dozen members of the studio that created Call of Duty jumped ship to Respawn. The exodus became so great that a source close to the studio told GameSpot it has clamped down with a hiring freeze until it can get its finances--backed by seed money from EA--in order.