Earlier reports suggested that, due to Activision and Vivendi's merger into industry behemoth Activision Blizzard, some staff redundancies would result in more than a few lost jobs. New reports reveal that staff layoffs are coming, and Vivendi's UK branch will bear the brunt of the burden.GamesIndustry.biz reports that "the majority of the Vivendi team, which oversees the Sierra games label among other things, will face job losses." Some senior team members will be invited to re-apply for new roles within the company. How generous.Furthermore, a number of upcoming Sierra titles have been under close scrutiny since the Activision Blizzard merger and may not see eventual release dates. Specific details such as which titles might be permanently vaulted have not been revealed....

Big Download's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from E3 week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute. KOTOR MMO confirmed by Electronic ArtsWe've had plenty of speculation -- lots and lots of it -- but now we've got confirmation from Electronic Arts chief executive John Riccitiello that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is indeed getting a massively multiplayer online iteration. Portfolio.com has the story. Wrath of the Lich King Beta is now openToday is pretty much a landmark day for MMOs. Earlier today an interview with EA executive John confirmed the existence of the KOTOR MMO. That's enough for any two days. Why not add the unveiling of the Closed Beta test for the west's most popular MMO into the mix? That's right, the download instructions for Wrath of the Lich King's Beta client are now up on the official World of Warcraft website. Our sister site WoW Insider is carrying the news, noting that this is just the beginning of the ramp up to full Beta testing. Mythos beta is shutting down tonightThe woes continue at Flagship Studios. It was just announced that the Mythos beta will shutdown tonight. The official time slotted for its cease of operations is at July 18th, 2008 at 11:59 CST. Community manager Tiggs left the message on the forums which are also due to close at the same time. Blizzard victorious in WoW Glider caseVirtually Blind is reporting that the WoW Glider case has been resolved in Blizzard's favor. The maker of the epic fantasy MMO has long contended that the MDY developers are infringing on the company's copyright. MDY makes the WoW Glider bot software, possibly the most popular of a series of options that allow an unattended computer to 'play" World of Warcraft. E308: DC Universe Online roundupSony Entertainment Online revealed a metric ton of new information on their upcoming superhero MMO DC Universe Online at E3 this week, and Massively was on hand to pick the spicy brainmeats of Creative Director Chris Cao, SOE-Austin VP of development John Blakely, and famed DC artist and Executive Creative Director for the project, Jim Lee. ...

MCV magazine recently spoke with Activision Blizzard CFO Thomas Tippl on the recent merger between Activision and Vivendi that resulted in the largest gaming conglomerate in existence.Due to the high number of popular franchises developed by Activision and Blizzard individually, MCV was curious as to which titles might be considered high priority in terms of the new juggernaut's future plans. Not surprisingly, Tippl was quick to herald Guitar Hero, which he stated has "sold more than any video game in the history of the industry," and the continued focus on Call of Duty.On Blizzard's side of the equation is the ever-popular World of WarCraft, which now boasts more than 11 million worldwide subscribers, making it the leading subscription-based MMO. Coupled with last year's StarCraft II announcement and the more recent unveiling of Diablo III, Tippl didn't have to work hard to convince MCV (or anyone else in the gaming world) that Blizzard's line-up will be as strong as ever through the next several years.Specifics regarding stock shares were also discussed. When asked if Vivendi's 52 per cent holding classified the merger as more of an acquisition of Activision than a partnership, Tippl discussed the company's recently announced self-tender, " which will last for 20 business days. During that period of time, shareholders who want to sell up can do so at a price of $27.50."The full interview is available at MCVUK.com....

Late Thursday evening, as E3 winded down, word around the campfire says that Blizzard has begun the Wrath of the Lich King beta. According to the team at WoW Insider a source says the alpha phase shut down a few days ago and invites for the beta will soon be distributed. Adding fuel to the fire, a Blizzard site has appeared with details on setting up the World of Warcraft expansion beta test. Have you been selected to participate? Let us know! In the meantime, can check out the patch notes here....

Official WoW site WorldOfWarCraft.com brings word that the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion for Blizzard Entertainment's World of WarCraft MMO will introduce achievements into the world of Azeroth."World of Warcraft's achievements system will launch with more than 500 individual achievements covering every aspect of gameplay, including world exploration, PvE, PvP, professions, and character development," wrote the company on their official site. "From the purely whimsical to the truly epic, there will be something for everyone. Some achievements come with in-game rewards such as tabards, vanity pets, and titles. All of these rewards are purely cosmetic and just for fun, but you'll certainly stand out when you proudly display them."Given the number of hours WoW fanatics spend in their favorite virtual world, Blizzard has already foreseen that 500 achievements probably won't be enough. "And don't fret about running out of achievements anytime soon," continues the site. "The list is easily expandable, so you can expect additional achievements with each new World of Warcraft content update."Achievement details will be accessible via a new button on your action bar. Clicking the button opens your achievement window, which details your total points for all the achievements you've completed; and a name, description, point value, completion date, and progress bar (if applicable) for each achievement. Similar to quests, players can choose which achievements to actively track.The evolving achievement list will encompass a variety of different types and categories, ranging from simple assignments such as receiving a haircut to slaying one of each race in PvP factions. "Some achievements are progressive," explains the site, "for example, once you complete an achievement to collect 10 vanity pets, you might next be asked to collect 25. Finally, meta achievements unlock when you complete other achievements -- unlocking all World Exploration achievements ... unlocks a World Explorer meta achievement."For more details regarding what to expect from WoW's achievements, visit WorldOfWarCraft.com....

Activision Blizzard has announced its intention to purchase 146,500,000 shares of its own stock at a price of $27.50 per share, reports GamesIndustry.biz. The offer to self-tender the share shares, which translate to approximately 22 per cent of the company, will expire at 5:00 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday, August 13, barring any extensions.According to GamesIndustry.biz, "Activision Blizzard agreed to commence the tender offer within five business days after closing the deal on July 9."...

As is often the case when a studio prepares to embark in new creative and business directions, representatives from Activision Blizzard report that staff and project cuts are anticipated.Develop reports that Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick spoke to Variety about the newly-merged industry giant's future plans. "We have a very good view into which products are going to have the prospects for profits that we look for," said Kotick. "Which ones have the margin potential that is important to us, which can be sequeled, which have worldwide distribution potential... If projects or business units don't [meet] our requirements for return to our shareholders and our profitability and operating margin targets consistent with our historical performance, they won't likely be retained.""We are in large part using the Activision organization as a backbone," said Activision Blizzard COO Bruce Hack, formerly head of Vivendi. "We will strengthen that backbone with employees and processes from Vivendi Games. At the same time, there will be a number of people at Vivendi Games who are going to be terminated."Hack was frank in admitting that "there are some very good assets that may not meet the hurdle," and if the newly-formed conglomerate doesn't consider up to par, such projects will most likely be "divested or closed down."All staff will be notified as to the status of their employment with Activision Blizzard within 30 days, according to Develop....

Blizzard hasn't released Diablo III yet and may not for a good long while but the developer has already made money with the announcement of their next action-RPG. The latest list of the top 10 best selling PC game list from the NPD Group reveals that the Diablo Battle Pack collection (containing Diablo I, II and the expansion Lord of Destruction) has shot up to number two on the list.It just goes to show that perhaps not everyone has purchased Blizzard's games before. It also proves that the developer is one of the few that can rely on sales of its older products to sustain itself; five Blizzard titles are in the top 10 this week. Here's the full NPD Group list: The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff - Electronic Arts Diablo Battle Chest - Blizzard Spore Creature Creator - Electronic Afgx The Sims 2 Double Deluxe - Electronic Arts World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest - Blizzard World Of Warcraft - Blizzard Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures - Funcom/Eidos World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade - Blizzard The Sims 2 FreeTime - Electronic Arts Warcraft III Battle Chest - Blizzard ...

So you have just merged two of the biggest gaming publishers into one massive mega-company in Activision Blizzard. What do you do for an encore? Variety's gaming blog site has some info on what the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games will do in the future. One is that Vivendi's Sierra Entertainment brand will likely face some cuts in both upcoming games and in their many internal development studios. Some of those games and studios might be sold off to other game publishers. Decisions on those items are expected to be made in about 30 days.While we have already reported on Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward getting a new contract, the Variety blog also reports that executives at Blizzard have also signed long term contracts with the new Activision Blizzard which should ensure their participation in upcoming projects. In fact Activision first wanted to buy Blizzard by itself before deciding on the merger with the entire Vivendi Games lineup....

A crowd of ecstatic fans cheered when Blizzard announced Diablo III at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational and gave an early look at its gameplay. Then reality set in, and people were reminded that they wouldn't be fighting off the forces of hell again for a very long time. To help people suffer through the long "when it's done" schedule Blizzard sticks to, we've put together recommendations to help gamers get their action RPG fix until it comes time to confront the Lord of Terror again. Check out our recommendations after the jump... Download the HD Diablo III Teaser Trailer...

Blizzard is famous for sticking to a "when it's done" philosophy when announcing new games in development and won't hesitate to delay a release to ensure a high level of quality. It's been ten years and counting since StarCraft graced our computers, and gamers still have a long wait before seeing StarCraft II. Don't hang on to any hopes of Diablo III coming our way soon, even though it's been eight years since Diablo II came out. Coincidentally, Ubisoft recently announced that it would opt to space out future Assassin's Creed releases instead of putting out a new game every year. The declining sales of the Prince of Persia sequels were proof that gamers can grow wary of game franchises. Technical issues are often blamed for Spore's numerous delays. It's a slow progression, but development companies are coming to the realization that slow and steady wins the race, while dashing out to milk a franchise for all its worth doesn't always work. Can games afford to stay in development indefinitely? How long does it take before interest starts to fall? Does it always have to be a choice between quality and timeliness? Sound-off after the jump....

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours. Big Download's most anticipated PC games of E3 2008: 15-11On Tuesday, in our last thrilling episode of Big Download's most anticipated PC games for E3 2008, we listed our picks for 20-16 on our list after revealing our picks for 25-21 on Monday. Which naturally means that today we will have our picks for the 15-11 games we have on our list that we are most interested to see at E3 next week in Los Angeles. Which games will they be? Will they actually be at the show? Will we stop making silly references to Saturday afternoon movie series of the 1930's? Stay tuned to find out the answers to these exciting questions and more. Big Ideas: Are video games art?The idea that video games could be classified as art is a fairly recent one, emerging right around the time that we began to include narrative as a game element. All too often, the subject is brought up by detractors of the form as a way to look down upon a medium to which they feel no attraction. The underlying conceit is ridiculous of course -- if video games aren't art, then they have no lasting cultural value, and may therefore be dismissed as mere juvenilia. Yet video games are, nevertheless, quite a large part of our culture, and the lingering perception that they are made only to be entertainment for adolescents does the entire industry a disservice. New Team Fortress 2 update releasedPC owners get another new update for Valve's popular multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 this week. This update, which as always is available when signing on via Valve's Steam client, is mostly to deal with a number of minor bug fixed in the game. Blizzard community manager discusses Diablo III respecsDiablo II could be a harsh mistress: bludgeoning your free time without a second thought, severely lowering your resistance levels in Hell difficulty, and adopting a "that's life, kid" attitude toward misspent skill points. Though equally harsh in many ways, modern action-RPGs and MMOs such as Titan Quest and Blizzard's own World of WarCraft allow players the option to respecify (or "respec") skill points they've decided are no longer applicable toward their desired character build -- for a fee, of course. ...

After months of going through the legal motions it's finally official. Activision and Vivendi Games are now no more; as the merger of the two game publishers behind Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and many other game franchises has been completed. Both companies issued press releases this morning with the news of the new Activision Blizzard. The company will be traded on the NASDAQ stock market under the name ATVI.Technically Vivendi Games merged with an Activision subsidiary with shares of Vivendi Games' stock turned into Activision stock. At the same time, Vivendi Games' parent company Vivendi bought $1.7 billion in Activision stock giving Vivendi a 52 percent ownership stake in Activision Blizzard. A few days from today Activision Blizzard will launch a $4 billion all cash tender offer to purchase shares at $27.50 a share. If the tender offer goes through Vivendi will then own up to 68 percent of Activision Blizzard....

Diablo II could be a harsh mistress: bludgeoning your free time without a second thought, severely lowering your resistance levels in Hell difficulty, and adopting a "that's life, kid" attitude toward misspent skill points. Though equally harsh in many ways, modern action-RPGs and MMOs such as Titan Quest and Blizzard's own World of WarCraft allow players the option to respecify (or "respec") skill points they've decided are no longer applicable toward their desired character build -- for a fee, of course.Blizzard community manager Bashiok recently posted about respec options in Diablo III. Though purposely elusive on concrete details, Bashiok did say that "There will almost definitely be some sort of system to respec; however, it isn't likely to be as liberal as World of Warcraft. We don't want to lock a player into a system that punishes them for mistakes, experimenting, or lack of knowledge early on in the game. We also don't think a system that allows immediate, complete, and at-a-whim changes to a character spec matches the feel of Diablo. It's likely to be somewhere in between."Bashiok went on to admit that "we still feel like the desire to play the same class again that you may have played before is still a part of the game, and with some ability to respec could potentially require other incentives."...

At a not-so-top-secret stockholders meeting earlier today, Activision received the necessary stockholder approval (over 92 per cent) to officially merge with Vivendi Games. The transaction between Activision and Vivendi will officially close on July 9.According to the official press release, "Activision and Vivendi Games will combine their businesses through the merger of a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision with and into Vivendi Games. As a result of the merger, Vivendi Games, the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment and Sierra, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision."For in-depth information, please view the official press release....