Nearly 100 Radical Entertainment employees, 60 High Moon Studios staffers and at least two games mark the latest causalities in parent company Activision Blizzard's streamlining efforts, according to reports.

Word of the Radical layoffs, which make up almost half of the Prototype-developing studio, arrived via The Vancouver Sun and was confirmed by the studio. Gamasutra cites numerous independent sources for the departures from The Bourne Conspiracy developer High Moon, which represent less than half of the company.

Left, Radical's Prototype. Right, High Moon's The Bourne Conspiracy

"Activision Blizzard is committed to making the best games possible and has elected at this time to reduce the number of titles that Radical is developing from four games to two," commented Radical human resources VP Leah Rubin. "Therefore... Read more

Publisher Activision Blizzard is currently in talks for the sale of World in Conflict developer Massive Entertainment following the recently completed merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, studio executives told Videogaming247.

"It seems like we have plenty of options. We've had some good meetings here," said Massive founder and president Martin Walfisz. "Being a part of a merger like this is a strange situation, because obviously the new organization has to look over all of its assets, everything it owns and its strategy for the future."

Activision Blizzard revealed late last month that several titles owned by corporate component Vivendi would not make the transition to the newly-formed company, and that it would be "exploring options" concerning the Vivendi-owned studios... Read more

The rights to develop and distribute games based on Robert Ludlum's Bourne series of novels have been reacquired by the late author's estate from former holder Vivendi Games, representatives of Ludlum Entertainment announced today.

The announcement follows the recently merged Activision Blizzard's streamlining of properties and studios owned by Vivendi Games, which saw a number of titles offloaded from the company's publishing operations.

Activision Blizzard announced its intentions to "realign staffing" at Vivendi-owned High Moon Studios, developer of Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy (PS3, 360), the first title to be based on the Bourne license. The game hit stores last... Read more

Update 2: Developer Double Fine has chimed in on the fate of Brutal Legend, stating that the Jack Black-starring action-adventure title "is fine."

Update: Sierra has assured that Ghosbusters "will not be cancelled", but offered no further details on the title or any of the others believed to be on the chopping block.

Original Story: In the wake of the recently completed Activision Blizzard merger, the company has revealed that only five franchises from Vivendi Games' Sierra portfolio will be making the transition to the newly-formed company's publishing operations.

Endangered titles Brutal Legend (Left) and Ghostbusters (Right).

The titles and franchises confirmed to make the leap include Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Ice Age, Radical Entertainment's Prototype and a yet unannounced title. Those remaining titles formerly slated for publishing deals with Vivendi Games, however, could now be without publishers.

"The only [Vivendi] franchises that Activision Publishing will release are based on Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age and Spyro, as well as Prototype and one other game that has not yet been announced," an Activision Blizzard representative told GameSpot. "We are reviewing our options regarding those titles that we will not be publishing."

The remaining Vivendi Games portfolio includes Double Fine's Brutal Legend, Terminal Reality's and Red Fly's Ghostbusters, A2M's Wet, Starbreeze Studios'... Read more

The freshly conglomerated publisher Activision Blizzard is considering development of an online music platform similar to Apple's iTunes software utilizing the Guitar Hero brand, according to the Financial Times.

"I don't think there have been a lot of credible alternatives to iTunes but Guitar Hero certainly has that potential," said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

The executive also stated that a Guitar Hero online music platform was a "natural evolution" of the franchise, which has generated over $1 billion in revenue for the company.

The newly formed Activision Blizzard arose from a merger between Activision and Vivendi Games, which owns Universal Music. Kotick added that the music label could help the company create a venture which could successfully compete... Read more

Activision and Blizzard Entertainment parent Vivendi Games announced the completion of their multibillion dollar merger resulting in the creation of Activision Blizzard.

Originally announced in late 2007, the merger was approved by shareholders earlier this week. The new Activision Blizzard corporation is valued at roughly $18.9 billion, marking one of the largest corporate consolidations in the industry's history.

"We are very excited about the opportunity for Activision Blizzard to create a broader entertainment software platform," said Activision Blizzard chairman Rene Penisson. "We are determined to 'think big'!"

According to the terms of the transaction, Vivendi will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision. Through the merger and a $1.7B stock purchase, Vivendi will acquire roughly 358.3 million shares in the new company, amounting to a 52% ownership stake in Activision Blizzard.