Activision Publishing CEO and President Mike Griffith has resigned, effective April 23, 2010. He will continue as Vice-Chairman of Activision Blizzard for at least the next 12 months — and receive a $250,000 annual salary. That might sound like a good package for Griffith, but consider his total annual compensation for 2009, $6.86 million. Activision Blizzard’s stock was down 4.5% this afternoon.
There is no official reason for his departure…
Some news outfits speculate that an imbroglio between the company and Infinity Ward might be the cause. The studio, known for Modern Warfare series, sued Activision for allegedly withholding bonuses; Activision countersued. Meanwhile, Infinity Ward suffered an exodus of talent, studio including heads Jason West and Vince Zampella. Shortly after leaving, West and Zampella formed Respawn Entertainment and entered into a publishing and distribution deal with EA.
Activision Blizzard is doing moderately better financially — they raised their guidance for 2010.
Another rumor points to Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard,...
There is no official reason for his departure…
Some news outfits speculate that an imbroglio between the company and Infinity Ward might be the cause. The studio, known for Modern Warfare series, sued Activision for allegedly withholding bonuses; Activision countersued. Meanwhile, Infinity Ward suffered an exodus of talent, studio including heads Jason West and Vince Zampella. Shortly after leaving, West and Zampella formed Respawn Entertainment and entered into a publishing and distribution deal with EA.
Activision Blizzard is doing moderately better financially — they raised their guidance for 2010.
Another rumor points to Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard,...
- 4/28/2010
- by Eric Taylor
- GameRant
Mike Griffith has resigned from his post as Activision CEO. Effective from April 23, Griffith will no longer head up Activision Publishing but will continue to work with the company as vice-chairman of Activision-Blizzard for a further 12 months. His new role will see him "participating in board of directors and chairman of the board meetings and other internal strategy sessions; providing counsel to Activision Blizzard's executive team; and providing services on key initiatives and (more)...
- 4/28/2010
- by By Matthew Reynolds
- Digital Spy
Activision will split the company into four separate divisions to handle different franchises. The publisher will have one unit dedicated to Call Of Duty, one for Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero, another for third-party development and a division dedicated to Blizzard's titles and business, according to GamesIndustry.Biz. The executive staff will also undergo a reshuffle, with CEO Mike Griffith promoted to vice chairman and Thomas Tippl as chief operating (more)...
- 3/31/2010
- by By Matthew Reynolds
- Digital Spy
Yesterday, news came around that Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West may have been given the boot. Today, Activision finally responded by announcing that Vince and Jason have indeed left the company and that Activision Publishing Cto Steve Pearce and Head of Production Steve Ackrich are temporarily in charge of Infinity Ward.
Putting another rumor to rest, Activision has confirmed that Treyarch is currently developing a Call of Duty title for release in late 2010. Activision went on to say that (relatively) newly created Sledgehammer Games would also be developing a new Call of Duty title in the action-adventure genre. Infinity Ward, on the other hand, will be busy working on two map packs, which are slated to be released sometime in 2010. Unfortunately, there was no mention of Modern Warfare 3, which is leaves its development status still up in the air. With hints that a subscription-based Call of Duty is in the pipeline,...
Putting another rumor to rest, Activision has confirmed that Treyarch is currently developing a Call of Duty title for release in late 2010. Activision went on to say that (relatively) newly created Sledgehammer Games would also be developing a new Call of Duty title in the action-adventure genre. Infinity Ward, on the other hand, will be busy working on two map packs, which are slated to be released sometime in 2010. Unfortunately, there was no mention of Modern Warfare 3, which is leaves its development status still up in the air. With hints that a subscription-based Call of Duty is in the pipeline,...
- 3/3/2010
- by Sebastian Gaweda
- GameRant
Activision has moved to play down expectation that 2010's Call Of Duty game will eclipse the record breaking success of Modern Warfare 2. Developed by Infinity Ward, the sequel to 2007's Modern Warfare smashed all previous game sales records by racking up over $$1bn (641m) in revenue following its release in November 2009. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Activision publishing boss Mike Griffith revealed that the firm is not expecting to repeat the "same level of success" for the as-yet-untitled new game, which is being developed by Treyarch. However, Griffith said in an investor call that Activision remains "bullish" about the game's prospects for financial and critical success. "We've consistently grown the Call Of Duty franchise revenues year-on-year for the past seven years. We expect to continue our strategy (more)...
- 2/11/2010
- by By Andrew Laughlin
- Digital Spy
Yet another entertainment company has broken a sales record, as video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. reports that their Infinity Ward video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2", the sixth title in the action series, has earned more than $1 billion in revenue since it went on sale, November 2009.
The company has shipped approximately 17 million copies of the game in the past 2 and 1/2 months, closing in on the 2004 title "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," , that has sold 23 million games.
Activision attributes the success of "Call of Duty" to its online multi-player mode with updates, giving the title an extended 'shelf life'.
Sales of the new game have pushed the "Call of Duty" video game franchise way past the $3 billion mark in global retail sales, selling over 55 million units since its launch in 2003.
The new game sold 4.7 million copies on the first day of release in the Us and UK alone.
The company has shipped approximately 17 million copies of the game in the past 2 and 1/2 months, closing in on the 2004 title "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," , that has sold 23 million games.
Activision attributes the success of "Call of Duty" to its online multi-player mode with updates, giving the title an extended 'shelf life'.
Sales of the new game have pushed the "Call of Duty" video game franchise way past the $3 billion mark in global retail sales, selling over 55 million units since its launch in 2003.
The new game sold 4.7 million copies on the first day of release in the Us and UK alone.
- 1/14/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
According to Activision Blizzard Inc., the Infinity Ward video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2", the sixth title in the series, racking up over $550 million worth of sales in 5 days, has helped push the "Call of Duty" video game franchise past the $3 billion mark in global retail sales, selling over 55 million units since its launch in 2003.
The new game sold 4.7 million copies on the first day of release in the Us and UK alone.
Shares of Santa Monica-based Activision recently rose 13 cents to $11.69.
The 'first-person shooter' video game was released to over 10,000 retail outlets in the Us/Canada, with midnight openings to meet consumer demand.
Premise of "Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" follows an international hunt for a rogue criminal who sets up the Us as a patsy for an attack on Russia, resulting in Russian over-reaction, culminating in an invasion and occupation of Washington D.C.
"'The Call of...
The new game sold 4.7 million copies on the first day of release in the Us and UK alone.
Shares of Santa Monica-based Activision recently rose 13 cents to $11.69.
The 'first-person shooter' video game was released to over 10,000 retail outlets in the Us/Canada, with midnight openings to meet consumer demand.
Premise of "Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" follows an international hunt for a rogue criminal who sets up the Us as a patsy for an attack on Russia, resulting in Russian over-reaction, culminating in an invasion and occupation of Washington D.C.
"'The Call of...
- 12/3/2009
- by SneakPeek.Ca
- SneakPeek
Game publisher Activision and game producer Infinity Ward have announced that their new game, the hotly-anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 , has become the biggest game launch in history with estimated sales of $310 million in North America and the United Kingdom in the first 24 hours. This according to internal estimates at Activision.
As you probably know, unless you’ve been living in a cave, Modern Warfare 2 was released on Tuesday, November 10th at over 10,000 retail outlets in the U.S. which held midnight openings to meet consumer demand. In its first day, it sold approximately 4.7 million copies in just North America and the United Kingdom, again according to internal Activision estimates.
Obviously, the folks at Activision were pretty excited about all of this.
“The shattering of these entertainment records is a testament to the compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging experience that the Call of Duty brand delivers,” said Mike Griffith,...
As you probably know, unless you’ve been living in a cave, Modern Warfare 2 was released on Tuesday, November 10th at over 10,000 retail outlets in the U.S. which held midnight openings to meet consumer demand. In its first day, it sold approximately 4.7 million copies in just North America and the United Kingdom, again according to internal Activision estimates.
Obviously, the folks at Activision were pretty excited about all of this.
“The shattering of these entertainment records is a testament to the compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging experience that the Call of Duty brand delivers,” said Mike Griffith,...
- 11/12/2009
- by Joe Gillis
- The Flickcast
Activision Publishing, Inc. reports that the Infinity Ward video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ranks as the biggest game launch in history, with estimated sell-through sales of $310 million in North America and the UK in the first 24 hours of release. The 'first-person shooter' video game was released to over 10,000 retail outlets in the Us/Canada, with midnight openings to meet consumer demand. In its first day, the title sold an unprecedented 4.7 million copies in North America and the UK. Premise of the game is a six-hour campaign, involving an international hunt for a criminal who sets up the United States as a patsy for an attack on Russia, resulting in a Russian over-reaction, culminating in an invasion and occupation of Washington D.C. "'The Call of Duty' franchise has become a cultural phenomenon showing the power of video games as an entertainment medium," said Mike Griffith, CEO, Activision Publishing,...
- 11/12/2009
- HollywoodNorthReport.com
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