Yesterday, in an attempt to build anticipation for upcoming RTS blockbuster StarCraft II (as if gamers weren’t already peeing their pants with excitement), Blizzard announced that the newly revamped Battle.net will feature Facebook integration.

According to the press release, “the integration will enable StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty players to quickly add Blizzard gamers who are friends on Facebook to their Battle.net friend lists, facilitating their social gaming experience on the service.” Read more… »

Despite the drama surrounding Infinity Ward lately, the Call of Duty series is alive and well.  Today in a press release Activision unveiled Call of Duty: Black Ops, a new chapter in the long-running franchise.  Treyarch will be taking the reins for development of Black Ops after having previously developed Call of Duty: World at War. Not much has been detailed about gameplay, but reportedly Black Ops will take the player “behind enemy lines”.

“We can’t wait for our community to experience Call of Duty: Black Ops,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch. “We have focused our entire studio on this game, with dedicated multiplayer, single-player and co-op teams creating the most intense, gripping and riveting experience possible for our fans on all fronts.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops is slated for a November 9 release date.  Further details will develop at the website.

Today, in a surprise move, Halo developer Bungie announced that is has partnered up with publisher Activision for an exclusive 10 year deal “to bring Bungie’s next big action game universe to market.”

According to the agreement Activision is granted worldwide publishing and distribution rights for all future Bungie titles based on a new unannounced intellectual property. It is important to note that, while Activision will handle publishing, Bungie will remain independent and will have full control over this illusive IP. Read more… »

There has been a lot of buzz going around about what the recently fired Infinity Ward co-founders (Jason West and Vince Zampella) are going to do now that they are sans employment. This morning the speculation has come to an end.

Today West and Zampella announced that they have formed a new studio, dubbed Respawn Entertainment, and have signed an exclusive publishing agreement with EA. Read more… »

Today a few details hit the Web about Activision’s new Spider-Man title that is set to arrive during “back half of the year.” Dubbed Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, the new title is slated to arrive on the Xbox 360 and Ps3 sometime in September of this year.

The web-slinging brawler is being developed by Beenox (Bee Movie, Monsters vs. Aliens). The main draw of this new Spider-Man iteration is that Spidey travels to alternate dimensions, represented by different art styles. So far only two art styles have been shown: “Noir” and the classic “Amazing.” Read more… »

Today PC gaming giant Blizzard Entertainment announced that its annual convention BlizzCon will return to the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, October 22 and October 23 of this year.

According to the press release, “BlizzCon offers us a great opportunity to meet with our players and share our enthusiasm for gaming with one of the most passionate communities in the world.” Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime added “We’re looking forward to providing another great show filled with entertainment, competition, and the latest information about Blizzard Entertainment games.” Read more… »

Jason West and Vince Zampella, formerly studio heads of Infinity Ward, are moving forward with a lawsuit against their former employer, Activision. Phil Kollar of Game Informer partnered with Eric Chad, an IP attorney, to get to the bottom of what really happened that fateful day, when security guards were ordered to escort the two developers off the premises. Phil uncovers some pretty disturbing material while skimming the 16 page legal document; some of which essentially infers that Activision, and/or CEO Kotick, were looking for reasons to fire West and Zampella without real cause.

So how can the lead developers of 2009′s biggest shooter be let go for no real reason? My money is on the fact that Kotick didn’t want them to jump ship, and enacted a pre-emptive strike before they started work on a new IP with a different competitor. Read the full article here and decide for yourself. Read more… »

Between yesterday and today, loose lips have been sinking the ship at Infinity Ward.  While details are scarce, two studio heads have been terminated from their positions.

The news was first brought to the public’s attention when G4 reported that studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West met with Activision and neither were seen again… by the staff.  Reportedly, relations between the developer and publishers have been fairly tense, and all hell broke loose yesterday afternoon when “a bunch of bouncer-types” appeared outside their offices. Read more… »

Over the weekend Activision Blizzard stirred up some controversy by sending a cease-and-desist order to a group of fans working on a fan-made King’s Quest sequel dubbed “The Silver Lining.”

It is important to note that this group of fans, working under the name Phoenix Online, has gotten into legal trouble before. Back in 2005, then owner of the King’s Quest franchise Vivendi sent Phoenix Online a cease-and-desist letter. After a few months on negotiating, Vivendi granted Phoenix a non-commercial fan license to use the King’s Quest settings. Read more… »

Covering 20th century warfare in video games is beginning to run its course.  With a reoccurring Call of Duty title out every year, the locales are beginning to thin out.  But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any settings left.

Right now, little is known about this year’s Call of Duty, but sources are pointing toward South East Asia.  The Vietnam War is a landscape that’s been relatively unscathed in comparison to World War II and the conflict in the Middle East.  What kind of controversy can we expect this time? Read more… »

Yesterday during an analyst conference, Activision CEO Mike Griffith announced that the publisher is going to refocus its rhythm games into two main franchises, Guitar Hero and DJ Hero. According to Griffith, this will help Activision reach a “broader audience.”

In 2010 Activision plans to release less than ten music game SKUs. While that still sounds like a lot, it’s not even half of what 2009 saw. Griffith explained, “This year, fewer SKUs will service a broader audience.” Read more… »

Alright, show of hands, how many of you played Tony Hawk: Ride?  Two of you?  Wow, more than I expected!  Now, did either of you actually enjoy playing it?  Yeah, that’s what I thought.  Ride had a lot of great ideas – and a lot of potential – but came up short of just about every goal it set out to achieve.  However, it seems that a new title in the series may be on the way, if a recent Tweet by franchise namesake Tony Hawk is any indication.

The statement from Hawk reads: “Just met with @robomodo about our next project and it’s already much better than I expected. Details soon. Chicago is not warm.” Read more… »