World of WarCraft has been perched high atop the massively-multiplayer throne for seven years now, but is about to get its first serious dose of competition when the Electronic Arts-published Star Wars: The Old Republic launches. While it's not really a shock to learn that some folks have already indicated that they'll be leaving Azeroth for a galaxy far, far away, a new survey indicates that World of WarCraft could shed anywhere between 900,000 and 1.6M players when the lightsabers start swinging.

Read more: The Force is strong with this one »

During Activision Blizzard's investor relations call earlier today, Blizzard boss Michael Morhaime revealed that subscriptions for the hugely successful MMO have dropped to 10.3 million active subscribers for the end of the company's fiscal third quarter. Approximately 800,000 users have walked away from the WoW universe during the period, based on Activision Blizzard's fiscal second quarter investor relations call, where Morhaime noted subscriptions for the game had dipped to 11.1 million.

Though Blizzard doesn't divulge forecasts on "subscribership levels," Morhaime noted that "the majority of the declines were in the east." Morhaime added that China still represents "more than half" of World of Warcraft's global player base.

Read more: Testing new content and December's historic data »

Activision Blizzard's fiscal third quarter report reveals the company has posted revenues over $100 million more than it has originally estimated in its outlook for the period. The quarter, which ended September 30, saw the publishing giant post revenues of $754 million, up from $745 million during the same reported period last year. Activision Blizzard had originally set its outlook for the quarter at $650 million.

Fifty-seven percent of Activision Blizzard's total revenue came from digital channels, totalling another record $427 million for the company, up from $363 million the same period a year ago. For a major contributor to the increase, we suspect we need not look any further than Call of Duty: Black Ops, which Activision Blizzard called "the [number one] best-selling title in dollars in aggregate across all platforms in the U.S. and Europe for each of the first three quarters of 2011."

Read more: Activision Blizzard 2011 outlook increased to $4.33B »

StarCraft 2 developers Dustin Browder, David Kim, and Josh Menke were discussing all things Heart of the Swarm at BlizzCon 2011, disclosing some new details about the current state of the series' next installment, with a particular focus on mulitplayer. Though still very much a work-in-progress, the team explained that by continuing to add or remove units, they can "effectively address race weaknesses, spice up certain stale matchups such as ZvZ or PvP, and address missed opportunities in existing units ."

Read more: Appraisal of the races »

Activision Blizzard has announced that the publishing giant has achieved record revenues in its second quarter, when ended on June 30, 2011.

Compared to $967 million in sales in the same period last year, Activision Blizzard jumped to $1.1 billion in its last quarter. Profit also spiked to $335 million versus $219 million in the same reported period last year.

Read more: Overall revenues tell a similar story »

During its Q1 2011 investor call, Activision revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops has become the best-selling game of all time since launching across multiple platforms last November.

In Activision Blizzard's Q1 2011 financial results, the company noted that Black Ops achieved the milestone during the company's first quarter and holds the distinction of "best-selling game of all time in dollars" on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC "in the U.S. and Europe." Read more »

Activision Blizzard has confirmed that a wave of job losses will sweep through the company after revealing multiple titles in its catalog have been canceled.

In a Form 8-K report released to investors (and publicly) to announce major changes, Activision Blizzard notes that the company's board of directors have approved a restructuring plan which includes the "separation of approximately 500 employees." The plan--which the company anticipates will be implemented in the quarter ending March 31, 2011--will result in a "net pre-tax charge in the first two quarters of 2011, which is expected to total between $35 and $50 million, comprised of severance costs, the costs of other separation benefits and other exit costs." Read more »

Activision Blizzard released its Q3 2010 report, revealing the company had exceeded its prior outlook by $145 million.

Thanks in large part to franchises like Call of Duty, Blizzard's unstoppable MMO World of Warcraft, and the performance of StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, Activision Blizzard recorded net revenues of $745 million for the period--which ended on September 30--versus a previous revenue outlook of $600 million. Read more »

The Silver Lining, the free fan-made sequel to Roberta Williams' hallowed adventure game series King's Quest, seems to have finally cleared all legal hurdles and is now headed for an episodic release starting on July 10.

The Silver Lining's troubles first began in 2005 when King's Quest owner Vivendi made moves to quash the game. Vivendi eventually granted the team a non-commercial fan license and development continued until February when the property's new owner Activision Blizzard decided to rescind that license, demanding the team halt development. Read more »

Singularity and Wolfenstein developer Raven Software "may be the latest studio to pick up the Call of Duty slack," according to Kotaku and its "source close to the studio."

Though publisher Activision already has three Call of Duty titles in the works--Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops, Sledgehammer's untitled action-adventure entry and, according to court documents, Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3--the company is reportedly "flipping out" about the unfolding situation at series creator Infinity Ward. Read more »

"Approximately thirty-five others" have left Call of Duty series creator and Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward since owner Activision fired the studio's two lead executives, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said today, with more expected to follow.

"It is likely a few more people will leave as well," Kotick explained during a conference call with investors. "Many of these people have been recruited by other studios because of how talented they are. We are obviously disappointed about this, and we wish we could have convinced some of these incredibly talented people to stay." Read more »

In what can only be described as a prime example of history repeating itself, publisher Activision is now in "discussions" with independent developer Phoenix Online Studios over the status of its free fan-made King's Quest sequel "The Silver Lining."

"Given the overwhelming community support for the Silver Lining project," Activision told Kotaku, "Activision is in discussions with Phoenix Online Studios about allowing them to continue to finish the game and then release it to their fans." Read more »

The just-announced partnership between Halo series creator Bungie and publisher Activision "will bring [Bungie's] new intellectual property to fans worldwide across all platforms," according to Activision Blizzard COO Thomas Tippl.

Exactly when that new intellectual property will premiere, and what platforms will be available at that time, remains unknown. The deal between the two companies spans ten years, with Activision getting "exclusive, worldwide rights to publish and distribute all future Bungie games based on the new intellectual property" while Bungie "remains an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property." Read more »

Halo creator Bungie today announced that it has entered an exclusive ten-year patnership with Activision "to bring Bungie's next big action game universe to market."

The agreement will see Activision granted exclusive worldwide publishing and distribution rights for all future Bungie games based upon the new intellectual property, though Bungie will remain independent and retain control of the mystery property. Read more »

With Activision Blizzard embroiled in legal feuds bought on by the current and increasingly former makers of its lucrative Call of Duty franchise, Mike Griffith has resigned from his role as president and CEO of its Activision Publishing subsidiary.

Griffith's resignation, effective April 23, was revealed in filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The impetus behind his resignation was not specified, though he will stay on as vice-chairman of Activision Blizzard. Read more »

Video games leviathan Activision Blizzard has rearranged itself into four units, the Los Angeles Times reports, including the already-known dedicated Call of Duty division.

One new unit is dedicated to the development of Activision's licensed titles, such as the newly-revealed Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and its many movie games, while another handles all Activision-owned properties, including Guitar Hero and the Tony Hawk series but not StarCraft developer Blizzard's own properties or Call of Duty. Read more »

Update: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions will also be released on Wii and Nintendo DS, according to the official site, which also offers word that pre-orders will be able to "download a bonus suit," likely in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.

Original: That new Spider-Man game publisher Activision has slated for the "back half of the year" is called Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and due out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in September 2010, according to GameSpot's "first look" preview. Read more »

Are you ready to Wipeout on Wii and Nintendo DS this summer? No, not the futuristic hovercraft racing franchise. The ABC television show. You know, Wipeout.

Ready or not, Wipeout: The Game is coming from publisher Activision, and it's bringing "the beloved Big Balls" and other aspects of the obstacle course along for the ride. Fortunately, up to four players can play at once, meaning that you won't have to "take on the Big Red Balls" or "the brutal Sucker Punch" all by your lonesome. Read more »

Original (3/1/10): G4tv.com's Patrick Klepek is reporting that a "tense" situation is brewing at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward. Citing a "source close to the... developer", Patrick paints a picture of what could be going on between IW and owner Activision Blizzard.

According to the story, "Infinity Ward studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West reportedly met with Activision this morning and have not been seen by Infinity Ward staff members since." Later in the day, non-uniformed "bouncers" arrived at Infinity Ward, but would not explain why they were there. Read more »

Having already survived one legal scuffle, fan-made King's Quest sequel "The Silver Lining" has again been felled by legalities.

Activision Blizzard--the result of a merger between Activision and King's Quest IP owner Vivendi--has requested that it be halted.

Originally referred to as "King's Quest IX: Every Cloak Has A Silver Lining," the unofficial sequel to the long-dormant adventure series was initially halted in 2005 after Vivendi sent the team a cease-and-desist letter. However, the project was revived months later as "The Silver Lining" when Vivendi granted the team a non-commercial fan license to use King's Quest settings. Read more »

As is becoming the trend, Twitter has found its way into yet another product with Bizarre Creations and Activision Blizzard including the social network in Blur (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). Here is an example of something you might see on your Twitter feed when the game is released within the next few months:

I'm tweeting directly from Blur - Yes, Twitter is in the game! - "I'm currently looking at the CCX-R in #blurthegame"

Video games leviathan Activision has laid off around two hundred staff, resulting in the closure of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen developer Luxoflux and heavy losses for Prototype creator Radical Entertainment and frequent Guitar Hero contributor Neversoft, with GH: Van Halen dev Underground rumoured to shut, Gamasutra reports.

Neversoft, who became Guitar Hero's primary developer with the third numbered entry and released nine Tony Hawk skateboarding games before relinquishing control of the franchise to Robomodo, lost around 50 of its 170 or so employees as of Wednesday. Read more »

On top of confirming plans to release a number of high-profile titles across 2010, mega-publisher Activision Blizzard has also outlined when they should hit.

Publisher Activision Blizzard today confirmed that, as expected, it plans to unleash a deluge of fresh entries in its popular franchises by the end of calendar year 2010, including new Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero and Spider-Man games.

In addition, the company reaffirmed that Blizzard's anticipated sequel StarCraft II and World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm are slated to arrive sometime during the year. Read more »

Not one to mince words, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has admitted his belief that the gaming juggernaut isn't doing your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man justice.

"Our Spider-Man games have sucked for the last five years," states Kotick in the February 2010 issue of print magazine Game Informer.

"They are bad games. They were poorly rated because they were bad games. We went away from what is Spider-Man. It's about web-slinging. If you don't do web-slinging right, what is the fantasy of Spider-Man?" Read more »