‘Future of Vivendi Games is quite uncertain’

According to a report on Variety’s The Cut Scene blog, sources at Vivendi have revealed a raft of in-development projects may be canned once new bosses step in to run the soon-to-be-merged Activision Blizzard.

"I’ve had numerous sources tell me that development teams on all of Vivendi’s games now have to essentially pitch their projects to Activision executives," explains Variety’s Ben Fritz.

"Until the merger is technically complete, work proceeds as usual, but once it’s over, Activision will start making some decisions. And it seems very unlikely that everything at Sierra will keep going as it has been.

"Just like when a new executive teams takes over at a film studio, some projects in development get killed and others get changed as the new folks in charge start establishing their own tastes and corporate priorities."

Variety points out that games due this year, and the lucrative Blizzard label, will remain untouched – although it goes so far to say that pretty much all the Sierra games are probably dispensable in Activision’s view: "Activision obviously made the deal to get its hands on the biggest MMO, and really the biggest game, in the industry. Everything else is basically an afterthought. Which leaves all of those making the afterthoughts in an uncertain position."

Fritz concludes: "It’s all in Activision’s hands now. Which leaves some nervous developers at Sierra."