In tow with Valve, Blizzard is planning to add to StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 but is starting its experiment with the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion which will track player's achievements and centralize the info into Blizzard Account according to an interview with WoW lead designer Jeff Kaplan. As more of its games get added, the system will migrate to an Xbox Live type gamerscore where players can compare statistics from their various Blizzard games with other people.

During Activision's Q1 2009, net revenues increased 32%, and with the newly combined forces, Activision Blizzard's calender year '08 financial outlook already exceeds the '09 targets. During the follow-up conference call, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith revealed next year will see "multiple" new Guitar Hero titles that will broaden the franchise's impact, as well as an all-new Call of Duty using leapfrog studio strategy, meaning it will be developed by Infinity Ward. Also expected are an unannounced racing game from Bizzare Creations, Madagascar 2, the re-invented Tony Hawk, Marvel's Wolverine, Monsters vs. Aliens, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Transformers 2, the previously revealed Singularity, Prototype, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and others.

During the Activision Blizzard conference call, Blizzard CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime revealed that while Age of Conan had some initial success, 40% of the people who left for Funcom's MMO have already returned to World of Warcraft. In a more interested tidbit, Morhaime revealed that Blizzard is currently hiring for a new MMO in development, but for "competitive reasons," no details were given. In the Q&A afterwards, Morhaime stated there are no plans to bring WoW to consoles. He revealed that testing on the Wrath of the Lich King expansion was proceeding well, and although he didn't confirm the previous "before end of the year" date, he did say it will NOT be during the July-September quarter.

Vivendi and Activision announced the completion of the transaction announced on Dec. 2, 2007 to create Activision Blizzard, as the world's most profitable pure-play online and console game publisher.

Designed to attach to a keychain, the lightweight and waterproof Blizzard Authenticator is an electronic device that generates a six-digit security code at the press of a button. This code is unique, valid only once, and active for a limited time; it must be provided along with the account name and password when signing in to the World of Warcraft account linked to it.

Ever since Blizzard announced its Paris Invitational speculations have been running wild that a new game might be unveiled at the exhibition. A few weeks back X-Fire invited its members to join for the "new game announcement," which was removed shortly thereafter, and earlier this week an evolving teaser page/image appeared on the Blizzard website fueling further frenzy about what title it might be. During a Q&A sessions at the Paris GDC Blizzard's VP of design Rob Pardo confirmed that a game announcement will be made, but would not release any further details.

Later this month Blizzard is kicking off its Worldwide Invitational event in Paris, France where fans will be able to check out the latest WoW expansion, as well as StarCraft II. There have been quite a few rumors about what else Blizzard might have in store, such as reviving StarCraft Ghost, unveiling a new installment in the Diablo series and what not. Xfire fuels speculations by offering its members to "discover what new game will be announced in our chat rooms." A few more weeks patience and we'll know!

We all know that Blizzard is not afraid to use the ban hammer on gold farmers and all sort of cheaters, but it seems to have outdone itself this time around. While still in a legal battle with the creators of Glider, a bot program used in WoW to generate honor while being offline, Blizzard started banning thousands of subscribers who are using the "cheat" program. Shortly thereafter, the Glider forum was flooded with hordes of its users (it costs $25) wondering what was going on and asking for their money back.

Major League Gaming announced the launch of the MLG PC Circuit played on HP Blackbird 002, to be held alongside MLG's Pro Circuit event in San Diego June 13-15 and will feature World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade and over $20,000 in prizes.

Blizzard unveiled a brand-new design for its Official Blizzard Store, not just overhauling the graphical appearance and navigation of the site but also incorporating several major new functions into the site, such as the Beta-Test Eligibility and the ability to download copies of Blizzard games that you have previously purchased.

Tickets for the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational convention and tournament gaming event will be available from Thursday, Mar. 20, on the Worldwide Invitational Web site. The event is taking place in Paris, France, at the Porte de Versailles Exposition Centre on Jun. 28-29.

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).

Blizzard announced plans to hold its fourth Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France on the 28th and 29th of June, celebrating the communities surrounding Blizzard's Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft series as well as showcasing the skills of top eSports gamers from around the world.

During a D.I.C.E. Summit panel discussion, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime revealed a list of titles that got canceled over the past few years, showing they are not afraid to axe titles when they aren't working out. While the most recent Starcraft Ghost is not on the list (maybe it's been revived?) Blizzard mentioned titles like Warcraft Adventures, some fantasy title called Raiko, Nomad featuring two giant zeppelin airships, Games People Play, Crixa, Shattered Nations, Pax Imperia and Denizen (thanks Firingsquad).

Over the past few fiscal quarters, it has become quite obvious that Blizzard's World of Warcraft is Vivendi's main source of income, driving its revenue month after month, but we never really knew how much cold hard cash it brought in. As the year came to an end, Vivendi made its 2007 tally, $1.51 billion for the year, up 26% compared to 2006, $1.2 billion coming from Blizzard's MMORPG.

As reward for his contribution to advancement within the industry while demonstrating proven success and leadership, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is inducting Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime into its Hall of Fame.

Korean online game developer and publisher Gravity, best known for Ragnarok Online, announced the formation of San Mateo, California studio L5 Games, and hired several former Blizzard North employees who held leadership roles in franchises such as World of Warcraft, Diablo and the StarCraft and Warcraft series.

That Blizzard has several projects in development is no secret, but they are kept pretty secret. However it seems there is now another mystery title to be added to the list, a "next-gen MMO", according to the latest sightings on the job recruitments page. Blizzard confirmed this is a yet unannounced "new" title, not another World of Warcraft expansion.

Activision has signed an $18.9 billion agreement to combine Vivendi Games, which includes Blizzard's World of Warcraft, with Activision, creating the world's largest pure-play online and console game publisher. Activision Blizzard will be led by Activision's current CEO, Bobby Kotick.

Blizzard revealed today that the second expansion for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King, and StarCraft II, Blizzard’s highly-anticipated real-time strategy game, will be playable at the 2007 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany.

In order to sway people to attend its fanfest Blizzcon, World of Warcraft developer Blizzard is offering attendees a bunch of swag (free goodies) to be announced at a later date. It did, however, already confirm that a beta key for an upcoming Blizzard game will be provided, as well as World of Warcraft in-game murloc suit, an item that can be redeemed and given to your favorite WoW character.

Vivendi Games’ revenues spiked 117.2% compared to last year, primarily driven by the successful launch of Blizzard's first World of Warcraft expansion pack The Burning Crusade. In its first month of sales, The Burning Crusade set a new one-month record for PC game sales by selling approximately 3.5 million copies in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and is soon to launch in China.

In keeping with its aggressive stance against cheating in World of Warcraft, Blizzard banned over 114,000 accounts in Europe in the month of April. The banned accounts were taking part in activities that violate the game's Terms of Use, including using third-party programs to farm gold and items, which severely impacts the economy of a realm and the overall game enjoyment for all players.

Blizzard announced plans to hold its 3rd Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea on May 19 - 20. The Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals are public events that allow the company to connect with gamers in a celebration of the Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft game universes and competitive Blizzard gaming.

WoW Glider is a 3rd party tool that lets players control their in-game character without being logged in. It will have your character go out and gain skills hunting monsters, and it allows you to loot them. Believing that WoW Glider infringes on their IP, Blizzard and Vivendi have filed a lawsuit against MDY Industries and its creator Michael Donnelly in the state of Arizona, seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages (thanks LadyAlex).