Activision

Call of Duty: Black Ops Gets More Play Than Facebook

Just imagine how connected we’d be if everyone spent as much time on Facebook as they did shooting each other. Impressive Call of Duty numbers courtesy of Activision Blizzard’s first quarter 2011 financial results.

By Mike Fahey Published May 9, 2011

Black Ops PS3 Bundle Coming in Three Weeks

A pair of retail sources informs Kotaku that a Call of Duty: Black Ops PlayStation 3 bundle will be available in North America on May 24. The unit—which features a 160 GB hard drive—lists for $299.99 USD. Kotaku has reached out to representatives of Activision and Sony Computer Entertainment. Any comment will be updated here.

By Owen Good Published May 7, 2011

Modern Warfare 3 to Get a June Reveal

To no one’s surprise, there will be a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. (C’mon, when Electronic Arts’ CEO is talking tough about Battlefield 3 versus Call of Duty, he doesn’t mean Black Ops.) Official PlayStation Magazine‘s latest edition includes a teaser for the game’s big reveal in next month’s edition. See it here.

By Owen Good Published May 7, 2011

Prototype 2 Does Not Make for a Very Heartwarming Mother’s Day Card

Activision picked a rather awkward game to help remind players that Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 8. I guess they are trying to say make your mother happy this Sunday, or consume her later and experience her disappointment first-hand.

By Mike Fahey Published May 6, 2011

Now Microsoft Is Issuing Security Warnings

What a week! First Sony has a little trouble with its online security, and now Microsoft is issuing warnings about people running “phishing” scams over Xbox Live. A “phishing” attempt is when a player is contacted by another in an attempt to get hold of things like service passwords and credit card information. It’s a…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 27, 2011

Leaked Activision Memo: There’s Just No ‘Appetite’ For Guitar Hero Now, But It May Rise From Its Grave

Publisher Activision put its Guitar Hero business on ice earlier this year, signaling the end of a genre that was once white hot, but quickly flamed out. Why did Activision just bail on this formerly billion dollar business instead of taking it in a radical new direction? That’s the question posed in a newly published…

By Michael McWhertor Published April 22, 2011

New Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Escalation’ Screens Will Give You An Itchy Trigger Finger

Here are a zoo-full of new screenshots from the next Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack, Escalation, which show off the add-on’s four new multiplayer levels; a Soviet zoo, a Cuban hotel, a Russian suburb, and an American convoy besieged by Russian troops. The new zombie map, Call of the Dead, is still shrouded…

By Mike Epstein Published April 21, 2011

Let’s Watch A Few Seconds Of Prototype 2 Gameplay Footage

In the first Prototype game, protagonist Alex Mercer was the good guy. In the second game, he’s the bad guy. In this latest trailer, the game’s developers waxed about Mercer and the decision to make him the enemy. The thrust in the sequel is that players are James Heller, who was infected by the “Blacklight”…

By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011

Activision Explains How Call Of Duty Will Escape Guitar Hero‘s Fate

Guitar Hero was once a shining star of a video game franchise, with each yearly installment generating more excitement than the last. Now the series is on indefinite hold. An internal Activision memo obtained by Giant Bomb poses a compelling question. “Isn’t Call of Duty today just like Guitar Hero was a few years back?”…

By Mike Fahey Published April 20, 2011

This Is What Crash Bandicoot Looks Like Running On The Crysis Engine

This is Crash Bandicoot Return, the closest we’ll get to the classic PlayStation platformer looking as good as a Crysis game. This Crash Bandicoot game is actually running on the Crysis engine, because it’s a fan-made mod that pays homage to Naughty Dog’s 15-year-old series. Crash Bandicoot Return is a Crysis mod from Anonym-Art Productions,…

By Michael McWhertor Published April 19, 2011

Modern Warfare Actor Arrested, Charged With Hitting His Wife

British TV star Billy Murray – who many of you will recognise as the voice of Captain Price in the Modern Warfare series – has been arrested in the UK and charged with assault after allegedly attacking both his wife and daughter. The 69 year-old, who is famous in Britain for his roles on long-running…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 14, 2011

Tony Hawk Says There’s A New Tony Hawk Game

After http://kotaku.com/5756340/tony-hawk-music-games-get-the-year-off-at-activision”>taking 2011 off due to poor sales, it sounds like there will another Hawk game. “We’re going to do something probably for next year but I can’t give too much away,” the skater said recently. [Pixelated Geek via GameSpot via VG247]

By Brian Ashcraft Published April 12, 2011

The Escalation of Call Of Duty: Black Ops Confirmed For May

Confirming last week’s rumors, Activision and Treyarch have officially announced the Escalation map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops, bringing four new maps and another harrowing zombie experience to the Xbox 360 on May 3. Here’s the news direct from Xbox Live’s Major Nelson: Today Activision has announced Escalation, the next game add-on for…

By Mike Fahey Published April 11, 2011

What Happens When Activision Buys A Developer

Did a purchase by mega-publisher Activision have an adverse effect on the culture of Bizarre Creations, the developers of the Project Gotham series? “We weren’t an independent studio making ‘our’ games anymore – we were making games to fill slots”, Bizarre’s former creative director Martyn Chudley tells Edge. “Although we did all believe in them,…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 7, 2011

Hope You Like Ads, Because Battlefield 3 Will Shovel Lots at You

This may have been a prediction. It sure as hell sounds like a threat. This year, Activision and Electronic Arts will both spend more on the marketing for two games than many publishers will ever spend on developing one, said Electronic Arts’ CEO. As he was speaking to a conference of advertisers, it was surely…

By Owen Good Published April 6, 2011

Call of Duty: Black Ops‘ ‘Escalation’ Add-on Pegged For May

Activision’s massively successful Call of Duty: Black Ops appears set to expand in May with the “Escalation” Content Pack for Xbox 360, according to a retailer listing from the Australian arm of GAME. What’s in Escalation? According to that purported listing, spotted by VG247, Escalation looks to feature four multiplayer maps and one new level…

By Michael McWhertor Published April 5, 2011

See The First Spectacular Trailer And Amazing Screens For Spider-Man: Edge Of Time

In order to help the Amazing Spider-Man save the future, Spider-Man 2099 has to save the past. That’s the kind of convoluted story you get when you start messing with temporal physics, but who cares when it looks this good? Activision and developer Beenox of Shattered Dimensions fame showed off Spidey’s latest time-twisted adventure this…

By Mike Fahey Published April 4, 2011

Modern Warfare Makers Complain Of Secret Call of Duty Games And More Broken Promises

“Don’t worry about it. It’s impossible for you guys to get fired,” Activision boss Bobby Kotick told Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella in 2008, according to a new cross-complaint filed today in a Los Angeles court. Two years and one Call of Duty game later, the creators of the billion dollar war…

By Michael McWhertor Published April 1, 2011

Return To 2099 In Spider-Man: Edge Of Time

Developer Beenox and Activision cross continuities again in Spider-Man: Edge of Time, a time-hopping adventure that’s one part Amazing Spider-Man, one part Spider-Man 2099. One Spider-Man just isn’t enough for developer Beenox. After giving four Spideys a try in Shattered Dimensions the team trims things down to two in Edge of Time. The untimely death…

By Mike Fahey Published March 31, 2011