GErman based 3D Game Engine developer Trinigy announced a license deal with Ubisoft studio Blue Byte, giving The Settlers developer access to Trinigy’s latest Vision Engine 7.0 which has been unveiled quite recently.

Wee 1st is Activision's a new consumer initiative to expand the company’s Wii portfolio, promoting games that were developed specifically with the Wii in mind, such as Little League World Series 2008, Rapala Fishing Frenzy and Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On.

Activision announced that, at a special meeting of stockholders held earlier today, it received a 92% stockholder approval necessary to consummate the company's agreement with Vivendi, S.A. to combine Vivendi Games with Activision's businesses.

Infinity Ward announced that it has decided to reup on their contract with Activision publishing. The recently renegotiated deal may not seem like much of an impact from the outside perspective, but it has laid the ground work and kick started IW's future project, as well as the possibility of a unique new IP, that they’ll have complete control over. Don't expect any details soon as IW's director of comm. Robert Bowling says "it’s going to be quite a while before I can share any details on exactly what that project is."

Online multiplayer middleware developer Quazal, known for Net-Z, Rendez-Vous and Spark!, has signed an agreement with Trinigy, makers of the Vision Engine, to integrate Quazal’s online technologies with Vision 7.

When Activision announced last year that it would merge with Vivendi Games not all its shareholders were in agreement with the $18.9 billion deal. Wayne County Employees' Retirement System filed a preliminary injunction which has now been denied by the Delaware Court of Chancery, so the merger can move forward.

To provide its audiences with more innovative gaming and virtual world experiences, Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group has formed new Games and Virtual Worlds Groups that will encompass gaming initiatives across all relevant platforms including: online and PC games; handheld and console games; and will include the company’s casual games sites.

NecroVisioN is a next-gen First Person Shooter that starts in the rage battlefields of World Word I and leads player to much darker and brutal underground world of vampires and demons.

Activision announced that it has filed the definitive proxy statement relating to the proposed combination of Activision with Vivendi with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and has begun mailing it to its stockholders. A special meeting of Activision stockholders will be held on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, to consider and vote on proposals to approve the transaction and related matters.

Activision's Q4 and fiscal year 2008 result reveals its 16th consecutive year of revenue growth with an increase of 92% compared to last year, mainly driven by Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero III, Spider-Man 3, Shrek The Third and Transformers. The subsequent conference call revealed that CoD 5 will also be coming to the Wii/PS2 and set in a 'new military theater.' Apart from a standalone game, Guitar Hero On Tour will also be bundled with the NDS according to Activision president Mike Griffith who also teased by saying that the company is about two weeks away from making a big announcement in regard to the next installment in the console edition, which will be a "leap forward." The New James Bond, expected this fall, will be powered by the CoD4 engine.

The ESA has sent out the invites for the E3 Media & Business Summit will be held July 15-17, 2008, but has once again moved from last year's Santa Monica location to good old Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC). While certain companies could still be in negotiations, the exhibitors list is blatantly missing various high-profile companies, such as Activision/Blizzard, Bethesda and Warner Bros. NCSoft had already announced last year they would not be present.

Following this week's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars preview event, Activision has confirmed that it is shutting down its internal Underground Development studio. Acquired by Activision in 2002, the studio previously known as Z-Axis, known for titles such as Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX and Aggressive Inline, is finishing up the PS3 port of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. The 45 employees are being given the opportunity to work at other Activision studios.

ET: QW pits the armies of Earth against the invading alien Strogg in this team-based online strategic shooter. Splash Damage revealed that Activision is no longer supporting the PC edition of ET:QW but that the v1.5 patch (a beta version was released earlier) is still in development internally and is scheduled for release later this month.

Featuring an exciting mix of intense mecha combat, hand to hand combat, and aerial board racing, Eureka Seven: Vol. 2 is the second installment of the flying aerial combat series and serves as a prequel to the popular animated show, currently airing.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum announced that Activision, publisher behind the Guitar Hero phenomenon , has signed on as a new sponsor, supporting the museum’s efforts to collect, preserve and interpret the global impact of rock and roll music.

At the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference earlier today, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick revealed that a Call of Duty MMO is under consideration. The current market has quite a few MMOs, but, as with the recent Star Trek Online/Perpetual fiasco has shown, even more get canceled, which is why Kotick believes the soon-to-be completed Activision Blizzard merger would put the company be in a good position to make it happen, drawing from the WoW user base, as well as the expertise of Blizzard.

The Wayne County Employees' Retirement System has filed lawsuit against the not yet officially formed Activision and Vivendi merger, according to the Delaware Online web site. The local investment group claims that its Activision shares will turn into an unfavorable minority position after the two publishers/developers become one entity ( thanks FiringSquad).

Swedish-based publisher Pan Vision Games signed a three year exclusivity agreement with Yuko Shimizu, creator of Hello Kitty, to make games based on the Japanese IP Angel Cat Sugar. The brand story evolves around Angel Cat Sugar, a princess in a world of angels, and her three mice friends Parsley, Thyme and Basil.

Activision's conf. call revealed quite a few new titles in the works, most scheduled for fiscal 2009 (anywhere from April 2008 - March 2009). New titles in franchises such as: Spider-Man, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Call of Duty, a makeover for the Tony Hawk franchise, the eagerly awaited James Bond (using an updated Call of Duty 4 engine) and titles based on Dreamworks movies Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar II. Giving credence to yesterday's Guitar Hero IV rumor, Activision confirmed two new Guitar Hero titles are in development, but declined to give details.

Activision announced that it had record net revenues of $1.48 billion and net income of $272.2 million for fiscal Q3, respective increases of 80% and 90% over the same period last year, far exceeding their expected revenue of $1.23 billion. This success was driven by strong sales of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III, Shrek The Third, Spider-Man 3 and Transformers: The Game. Activision has increased its fiscal outlook to net revenues of $350 million for Q4 and $2.65 billion for the 2008 fiscal year.

NecrovisioN is a first person shooter which immerses gamers in the claustrophobic trenches and bunkers of the First World War. Reminiscent of a Lovecraft horror, NecroVisioN seamlessly mixes the harrowing battlefields with a nightmarish demon and vampire underworld, unleashing a truly visceral experience.

A federal judge in Detroit on Monday, Dec. 17 denied The Romantics' request to stop the use of the song "What I Like About You" in Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s, saying that to the extent there were any copyright issues, Activision did exactly what the company was supposed to do in developing the product.

Activision was the #1 U.S. console and handheld publisher for the first eleven months of calendar 2007, according to The NPD Group, in which it increased its market share to a record 16.8%, a 7.9% increase over the same period last year, with Guitar Hero III and Call of Duty 4 leading the way.

Earlier this week, Harmonix accused Activision of blocking its software patch to make the PS3 version of Rock Band compatible with the GH3 peripherals. Today, Activision responded by issuing a statement blaming Harmonix for not accepting an "agreement" that would have allowed the use of Guitar Hero guitar controllers with Rock Band.

Harmonix created a software patch for the PS3 version of Rock Band to allow guitar compatibility for third-party peripherals, including Activision's Guitar Hero III controller. The compatibility patch was approved by Sony and had been scheduled for release on Dec. 4, but due to Activision's continued objection, the patch will not be released.