What to do when your event is drawing flak and your circle of supporters are leaving one by one? Try a different strategy, for one. And this is what ESA seems to be doing for next year's E3. Talks of them "going public" are circulating the Internet's grapevines. But how probable is this move?

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.

We don't know what execs were thinking at the head of the big gaming entity that is Activision Blizzard, but they're definitely giving up something good here. Right now, we have heard official word that RTS-experts Massive Entertainment won't be a part of the deal anymore, but the developer doesn't seem jaded at all. Read on for more of Massive Entertainment's fate.

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.

Looks like the Diablo 3 team is still on the burner for dramatically changing the atmosphere of Diablo for Diablo III. As the situation continues to brew in the Battle.net Forums, community manager Bashiok continues to address players' concerns over the health globe mechanics, the nerfing of potions, and the most recent inquiry into loot mechanics. Plucking what we can through the debate, we've managed to formulate what Activision Blizzard has in mind for Diablo 3. On to the full story, heroes!

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.

Let's face it: while Activision Blizzard did break the ice and let loose the fires of Diablo III, they've incorporated many changes to the action RPG that may be a drastic turnaround for many an avid Diablo fan. First up is the incorporation of health globes, which according to the developers should eliminate the need for potions and micromanaging bottles. Second was the art style, which many decided was to vibrant and colorful. Today, Blizzard's developers address the changes to health recovery.

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.