We all know the notorious reputation that Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts both have regarding multi-platform releases, but just how far does the marketing reach of both publishers stretch? According to a report from Screen Digest, both companies will collectively publish 40 percent by the holidays and as much as 75 percent of console releases in the western region from July to September.

It looks like layoffs are the "in" thing these days. While NCSoft lost less people than rumors previously said, Radical Entertainment was not so lucky. According to the Vancouver Sun, the studio's staff has been cut roughly in half. More in the full article.

If you thought Call of Duty: World at War (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, DS) is coming a bit too quick off the heels of the excellent Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), wait 'til you hear this one: another game in the franchise is coming out in 2009! Are we witnessing the annualization of successful FPS titles? Could be. More after the jump.

It was a bit of a letdown when Activision Blizzard didn't include Ghostbusters: the video game (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, PC) in its list of releases for the remainder of 2008. Vivendi, however, indicated that all is not lost as they will be exploring other options on how to release it. The game will have to come in 2009, but someone has to pick up the publishing reins first.

It's now official AND finalized: Activision and Vivendi have finally completed all the transactions needed to seal the deal and merge into Activision Blizzard, and the union between the two major gaming outfits would open a whole lot of possibilities for the gaming industry. More details in the full article.

Those looking for more details about Double Fine's Jack Black-starring heavy metal action title, Brutal Legend, will have to wait until after E3. Creator Tim Schafer has confirmed that the game will not be appearing during the annual gaming trade show. More in the full article.

Well, it looks as if the merger between Activision and Vivendi has finally reached its end. We've just received a press release that lets us fully make use of our Activision-Blizzard tag. Learn more about the merger after the jump!

Some shareholders were apparently not too pleased when Activision and Vivendi made known their plans to form a merger, and filed an injunction suit in an attempt to stop the development in its tracks. All was for naught, however, when the court denied the request to intervene in the planned merger. More details in the full article.

Electronic Arts has decided to wait a bit more for Take-Two Interactive to reconsider its offer for acquisition. The Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) publisher now has until the 16th of May to say yes to the giant's proposal. However, EA has lowered its per-share purchase rate by 24 cents. All the details follow after the jump!

Electronics Arts head honcho Peter Moore has always been outspoken about his grand plans for the publisher's EA Sports titles. Just how grand  are his plans? Enough to claim that fellow industry giant Activision-Blizzard won't be able to compete with them. Quite a statement to say against the company that brought us the Guitar Hero franchise. More in the full article.