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Research firm says League of Legends tops WoW as most-played PC game
Well, it's official (sort of). The World of Warcraft-killer has been named, and they're calling it League of Legends. A research firm known as DFC Intelligence has released a report claiming that Riot's MOBA was the most popular PC game in North America and Europe last year in terms of hours played. The title took home the top spot with 1.3 billion hours of activity, while WoW dropped to second place with 622.4 million user hours. The numbers purportedly represent "a list prepared by extrapolating from actual usage data from more than 21 million Xfire members." The top 10 list also includes MOBAs and MMOs like Heroes of Newerth, Diablo III, MapleStory, and World of Tanks.
Rumor: Vivendi looking to sell Activision-Blizzard stake
Rumors are swirling about the possible sale of Activision-Blizzard after the departure of Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy this week. Vivendi owns 61% of Acti-Blizz, and Levy reportedly walked over a disagreement about splitting up the French holding company. How this affects Activision-Blizzard remains to be seen, but Bloomberg says that Vivendi is looking to sell its entire stake, according to "a person with knowledge of the situation." The Wall Street Journal says that Vivendi's board of directors is mulling whether or not to split the company, which could potentially affect Blizzard and its World of Warcraft and Diablo III titles.
Vivendi boss says Activision is over Infinity Ward drama, studio 'reconstructed'
Jean-Bernard Lévy, chairman and chief exec. of Vivendi, which has a controlling interest in Activision Blizzard, noted that the megapublisher has "reconstructed" Infinity Ward. The Financial Times reports that, at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference, Lévy stated, "We have reconstructed Infinity Ward, we are very happy with the way we have been able to reconstruct it." Lévy claims Activision "got over" all the Infinity Ward drama from earlier this year, which likely came much easier with the help of the record-breaking success of Call of Duty: Black Ops, which made Treyarch the top cog in the Call of Duty development mill. Call of Duty currently has (at least) three studios developing titles: Infinity Ward is apparently working on Modern Warfare 3, Sledgehammer Games is delivering the 2011 installment for the franchise and Treyarch's project is currently classified. Meanwhile, Jason West and Vince Zampella, the former studio heads of Infinity Ward, who started Respawn Entertainment after their firing, have started from "absolute zero" on a project for EA Partners.
Vivendi CEO becomes Activision Blizzard chairman
Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO of Vivendi, will add the role of Activision Blizzard chairman to his resume. Levy will pick up the duties of outgoing 67-year-old Rene Penisson. Vivendi is the majority owner in the empire known as Activision Blizzard. Blizzavision is expected to announce strong sales in the bajillions - despite the economy's influence - during its financial report this Thursday.Activision Blizzard director, president and CEO Bobby Kotick had no reaction to the news, as he is currently on a deep exploration inside the company's money bin. He'll comment after returning and depressurizing in a couple weeks.
