Activision Streamlines Vivendi Operations, Drops Big Titles

Ghostbusters

When a publisher decides to "streamline" operations, this invariably means certain games will be cut from the project plan. Activision has announced they will be streamlining its Vivendi Games operations, and they'll be embracing five of the company's biggest names- Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Prototype, Ice Age, and one currently unannounced title.

However, this means that a bunch of titles are going to be left out in the cold. An Activision representative confirmed with GameSpot that the aforementioned games would be the only titles the publisher will produce, which means there are big ol' question marks surrounding some very promising next-gen projects. This includes Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Brutal Legend, and Ghostbusters. All you Tim Schafer fans out there are worried about Brutal Legend, and according to early preview information, Ghostbusters was shaping up nicely. But now...

"The only 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," said the representative. "We are reviewing our options regarding those titles that we will not be publishing."

So before you start to cry, bear in mind that games like Brutal Legend simply need another publisher. When this news first broke, several sources reported that Ghostbusters had been canceled as a result of this Vivendi streamlining, but since then, Sierra Games confirmed to GameSpot that the game is still a go. Activision does have other publishing options under its umbrella; titles like Brutal Legend don't have to be published by Vivendi, you know. However, it does generate a bit of a snag, and we're hoping that certain big-name titles find a new home quickly.

7/29/2008 Ben Dutka

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