The revelations were part of Activision Blizzard's presentation at a conference held by in-game advertising firm Massive Inc, during which Activision detailed its 2009 releases.

In addition to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Guitar Hero 5, the company also spoke of the next Tony Hawk game. "You're not going to be playing Tony Hawk with a controller in your hands," said an Activision executive, according to journalist N'Gai Croal.

The presentation also specified two new racing titles from Project Gotham Racing series developer Bizarre Creations: a James Bond racing game and another game billed as "Mario Kart meets Forza" by a company representative.

Along with N'Gai, MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo provided coverage, lending further credibility to the reports. Both writers are respected and considered credible. It is speculated that Activision did not expect journalists to be reporting live from the event, and presented confidential information not yet meant for public consumption.