If, as Activision claims, Jason and Vince were in the wrong and being totally unreasonable and greedy... I'd be hard pressed to believe 16 other people who value their jobs and Activision as "such a great publisher" would leave to join with these jerks again. Yeah, right Activision. Besides, Activision has already shown consumers how greedy they are.
Perhaps this will teach publishers an important lesson: it's the developers and the people that matter the most, not the name of an IP. Opinions on Modern Warfare 2 aside, this will undoubtedly be a major blow to Activision's Modern Warfare 3.
I look forward to the coming years where publishers get moved largely out of the equation. As things move completely to digital distribution (not just for PC, but console as well) the only reason a publisher will be necessary is for funding. I think we will see a trend where a successful development house will start with a publisher/investor for initial funding, and then move out to be completely self sustainable. I think we will also see for more creative games, risks, and indie games being developed, as well as a renaissance in genres such as the Adventure game (as Telltale has already shown us).