Since publishing this article, Activision Blizzard has released their 2010 Financial Results. The updated information can be found at the bottom.
The Internet is on fire ever since Eurogamer reported that Activision has closed the coffin door on the popular Guitar Hero franchise. In addition to the sad news, the upcoming True Crime: Hong Kong game has been cancelled and layoffs are aplenty.
Freestyle Games, which was acquired by Activision back in 2008, will see its ranks drop in the coming days, and United Front Games, the dev studio behind True Crime, has been completely shut down.
This news is particularly heartbreaking as Activision closed the door on one studio, Bizarre Creations, not that long ago and means that the company will mainly be known for Call of Duty, a franchise that isn’t thought too highly amongst the gaming community right now because of some unforeseen issues with the recent Black Ops title.
It’s reported that tonight, Activision will announce their financial results, so we won’t have to wait long for official confirmation.
Update – On Activision Blizzard’s 2010 Financial Results, they had this to say about the Guitar Hero franchise:
At the same time, due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing’s Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011. The company also will stop development on True Crime: Hong Kong. These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world’s best interactive entertainment experiences.
