MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Blizzard has confirmed that a third instalment in the revered Diablo III franchise is on its way to PC and Mac. The company announced the news at its Paris Invitational event on Friday, showing off a trailer and 20 minutes of gameplay footage. According to Next-Gen.biz, Diablo III’s storyline takes …
Read More »Speculation mounts about Blizzards surprise
An evolving splash page on the Blizzard website has got the virtual tongues of internet gamers wagging ahead of the firm’s Worldwide Invitational this Saturday – with most speculators hedging bets on a Diablo-related announcement. The image of breaking ice, which has been gradually evolving each day, contains a number …
Read More »Activision shares rated strong buy ahead of merger
The latest Wedbush Morgan mailout has revealed raised estimates for the combined business’ income FY ’09 revenue to $3.70 billion – up significantly from $2.41 billion. On July 8th, shareholders are expected to approve the deal, with Wedbush Morgan predicting that the merger will be officially closed by July 11th. …
Read More »Blizzard opens Digital Download Store
World of Warcraft studio goes straight to consumers for original Warcraft and Starcraft downloads - but not WoW itself
Read More »Activision instigated Vivendi deal
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has releaveled that it was he and his Board – not Vivendi – that kicked off the proceedings that led to last year’s $19 billion Activision-Blizzard ‘merger’. French entertainment giant Vivendi currently holds a 52 per cent stake in Activision – which is expected to increase …
Read More »Activision-Vivendi deal approved by EU
Vivendi has officially been give permission to proceed with its proposed merger with former rival Activision, according to Reuters. The terms of the deal mean that French telecom and media group Vivendi will boast a 52 per cent share in new industry giant Activision Blizzard. As the European Commission rubber-stamped …
Read More »CHINA: Warcraft hits one million unique users
World of Warcraft enjoyed a record peak of one million simultaneous users in China last month, according to publisher The9. The figure was the title’s highest ‘concurrency’ since its commercial launch back in June 2005, and came after the territory’s release of expansion pack The Burning Crusade, in September last …
Read More »Vivendi titles facing uncertain future?
A report on Variety’s The Cut Scene Blog has suggested that there is unrest amongst Vivendi developers ahead of Activision merger – read the full story on Develop here.
Read More »$1bn MMO still couldnt touch Warcraft, says Activision
Chief executive of Activision Bobby Kotick believes that even if a publishing rival was to invest $1 billion on a new MMO franchise, they would still struggle to take on Blizzard’s World Of Warcraft. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium 2008 conference, Kotick said: "[Blizzard] has probably half …
Read More »Activision facing lawsuit over Vivendi deal
Gamedaily.com reports that the merger pushes investors into an unfavourable minority position”. The complaint reads: "The merger, stock purchase and tender offer, working in concert, convey control of Activision to Vivendi but fail to offer the Activision stockholders an opportunity to realise a true control premium for their stock."
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