Activision

Activision has been hit with layoffs, I’m told. FreeStyle Games, creators of Guitar Hero Live, were greatly impacted. “We are refocusing to better align with Activision’s long-term priorities because, as always, our strategy evolves to keep us ahead of a rapidly-changing industry,” a company spokesperson said.

Destiny Expansion Coming This Year; Destiny 2 In 2017 

Today Activision confirmed that, as Kotaku reported last month, Destiny 2 won’t be out until 2017. But there will be a significant expansion later this year. Said the company in a press release this afternoon: “Activision Publishing, along with its partners at Bungie, expects to bring a large new expansion to Destiny in 2016 and…

Destiny’s Newest Farming Trick: Valentine’s Day Suicide

This week, everyone gets to celebrate Valentine’s Day festivities in Destiny, the video game version of the myth of Icarus. Naturally, Destiny players have already found a new trick (h/t Luke) for optimizing the amount of loot they score in this new event, which started yesterday and lasts until Tuesday, February 16. It’s simple: You…

Def Leppard’s latest music video makes its debut in Guitar Hero Live, because there just aren’t many places to debut a music video anymore. “Dangerous” joins “Let’s Go” and “Rock of Ages” as part of the “Def Leppard: Through The Ages” premium show.

TMNT: Mutants In Manhattan Screens Leak, Because Of Course They Do

Add cel=shaded screenshots to the Australian rating, achievements and cover art for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants In Manhattan. The still unannounced gamehas leaked so much I’m beginning to suspect Activision is trying out a new viral marketing technique. Perhaps last year’s pre-E3 leak of Transformers: Devastation worked out so well that somewhere behind-the-scenes there’s…

The children of Angolan resistance leader Jonas Savimbi are suing Activision over their father’s portrayal in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. They’re unhappy with the game making him out to be a “barbarian,” they say in the suit.

A Lot Of Work Goes Into Making Skylanders The Most Story-Focused Toys-To-Life Game

Where Disney Infinity delivers a series of small self-contained stories and LEGO Dimensions is just getting started, the Skylanders series has spent the past five years building an original fictional universe—and tearing it apart. With toys from all three series littering my desk at any given moment, I think about the blossoming toys-to-life genre a…

Skylanders Amiibo Figures Finally Available Without Buying A Skylanders Game

Amiibo collectors who purchased a Skylanders Superchargers starter pack for the Wii U, Wii or 3DS solely to acquire the exclusive Bowser and Donkey Kong combo figures are kicking themselves right now. The most recent installment of the Skylanders toys-to-life franchise piggybacked on Nintendo’s Amiibo craze to create an exclusive pair of figures that allows…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Game Leaks So Much There’s No Need To Announce It

Yesterday, the Xbox achievements leaked for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan. This is not unusual; achievements almost always leak before a game comes out. What’s unusual is that nobody has actually announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan Info on this new TMNT game has been circulating since November, when intrepid database…

Activision Wants To Start Their Own TV Channel For Esports

It’s official: Activision has indeed purchased Major League Gaming, as was rumored over the weekend. The most interesting part? They want to take esports to television. Speaking to the New York Times as part of the embargoed official announcement, Activision boss Bobby Kotick was as blunt as ever, saying he wants to take competitive gaming…

Activision Buys Out Major League Gaming [UPDATE]

UPDATE (1/4/16, 5:15pm): It’s official: Activision has purchased MLG, they announced in a press release today. Despite this weekend’s report, CEO Sundance DiGiovanni will actually stay with the company. Original article follows: According to a report from eSports Observer, Activision has entered into an agreement to purchase a majority of North American eSports organization Major…

Destiny Is Now Selling Level Boosters–And They Sure Cost A Lot

The developers at Bungie just added more microtransactions to Destiny, a video game in which players travel the solar system hunting for new content. Get ready for level boosters New on the Xbox Store today are three different packs that will give you: A) a level-25 boost for your class; B) a “subclass boost”; and…

It’s A Pretty Great Snoopy Game, Charlie Brown

Snoopy’s imagination adventures may have ruined the Peanuts comic strip, but they’re the perfect fodder for a solid movie tie-in platformer. Thought it shares the movie’s 3D look, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure doesn’t have much to do with Charlie Brown and friends’ big-screen debut. The kids are playing hide and seek, and Snoopy…

Call Of Duty: Black Ops III: The Kotaku Review

There are too many Call of Duty games. Let me clarify that statement: There are too many Call of Duty games in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. In my initial impressions of the single-player experience of the latest installment of Activision’s annual military shooter series, I celebrated what Treyarch had achieved with an extra…

Call of Duty: Black Ops III‘s Most Brutal Scene Haunts Me

Lately I’ve been having nightmares about robots. Spoilers for the end of the first mission of Call of Duty: Black Ops III follow. It’s strange. I thought it would have been the zombies. My mind’s been fertile soil for the seeds of bad dreams since I was a small child, and over the years I’ve…

Black Ops 3 Launched A Bit Broken On PC

Call of Duty campaigns are a guilty pleasure of mine, so I was excited last week to fire up Black Ops 3 on PC. Ten minutes later, I’d shut it down, and a sad sense of déjà vu was washing over me. It was a year ago that I was writing about how Advanced Warfare’s…

My Favorite Black Ops III Feature So Far Is Theater Mode

Because official screenshots wouldn’t dare get us this close to Jeff Goldblum’s majestic virtuosity, there is Theater mode. Giving players free access to gameplay footage and virtual camera controls is nothing new—games that pride themselves on their visual flair have been letting players show off their stuff for years. Perhaps one day it will be…

Activision Blizzard Launches Film And TV Studio

You might think that, after this week’s surprise $5.9 billion acquisition, Activision might be out of big announcements to make. But it turns out they’ve got at least one more. The mega-publisher announced today that they’re launching a studio for film and TV projects in their huge stable of francises, which includes Call of Duty,…

The First Five Minutes Of Black Ops III‘s Hidden Arcade Game

Continuing the proud tradition established in the original Black Ops, Black Ops III has a hidden arcade mini-game, only it’s not really all that mini. If you’d rather find it yourself, close your eyes and ears. And maybe don’t read on. With news of the hidden game splashing about the internet briefly yesterday, Call of…

Black Ops III‘s Solo Experience Is Surprisingly Deep

There are certain things I’ve come to expect from a single player Call of Duty experience—bombastic set pieces, an in-your-face message, some sort of betrayal and a slow motion enemy take down. Black Ops III delivers three out of four, plus a whole lot more. The latest installment of Activision’s biggest franchise that doesn’t involve…