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Activision to close Call of Duty mobile studio
Activision's mobile studio in the UK, The Blast Furnace, will close at the end of the month. A spokesperson for the publisher informed MCV that no "suitable alternative" was found. The studio entered the consultation period required by UK law in early February. The Blast Furnace headed up last year's iOS game Call of Duty: Strike Team, as well as mobile installments of Pitfall and Wipeout. The studio had 47 employees.
Call of Duty: Strike Team studio in peril as Activision mulls its future
UK mobile developer The Blast Furnace is in stasis as owner Activision reassesses its relationship with the studio, Game Informer reports. "Like any successful business, Activision Publishing continuously works to evolve its business based on our strategic plans and market opportunities," an Activision representative told Game Informer. "As we focus on our 2014 operating plan, we are aligning our resources against our anticipated business requirements. As part of this review, we have started a consultation at Blast Furnace based in Leeds in the UK." The Blast Furnace previously produced mobile entries in Activision's Pitfall and Wipeout franchises, and headed up last year's iOS release Call of Duty: Strike Team. Game Informer notes that Activision's proposed options for the studio include closure, downsizing, or splitting it off into its own independent entity. Speaking to MCV, an Activision representative revealed that the publisher wishes to "keep The Blast Furnace together and develop a plan that will enable them to remain as a team." Activision added that it will maintain its commitment to mobile platforms going forward, regardless of its plans for The Blast Furnace. [Image: Activision]
Call of Duty: Strike Team ducks out of cover onto iOS [update: trailer!]
A new Call of Duty ambushes us out of nowhere - on iOS no less! Call of Duty: Strike Team is a first-person shooter/squad-based RTS hybrid, out now for iPhone and iPad at $7. Developed by Activision mobile studio The Blast Furnace, Call of Duty: Strike Team puts players in an squad of operatives sent to deal with the latest worldwide conflict in which the US has become embroiled. That's a brief synopsis of the single-player campaign, while there's also a Horde-like survival mode that's integrated with leaderboards.
New Pitfall! game arrives on iOS
Activision celebrates Pitfall's 30th anniversary with a new iOS adventure for Pitfall Harry. Don't expect the same side-scrolling, campfire-jumping treasure hunt, however, as Pitfall! has been updated for the 2012 App Store market by Activision's mobile studio, now known as The Blast Furnace.That updating means it's an auto-runner with an in-game store, of course. That's ... not really Pitfall at all, so much as a new game with a jungle setting.In fact, it resembles nothing more than Temple Run with more variety in camera angles. It distinguishes itself with a low-poly look that we're going to guess is a tribute to the low-res pixels of the original. Luckily, it looks way better in motion than in screenshots. That's lucky because ... look at the screenshots.%Gallery-162083%
