Raven Software confirms staff cuts

Raven Software and studio owner Activision have confirmed with Shacknews that it has cut 30 - 50+ employees from its development studio in the post-development period following the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Wolfenstein. While this is typical behavior for studios who finish up big projects and have nothing to keep its employees busy there has been some speculation that the layoffs may be the result of lackluster Wolfenstein sales. Tom Chick’s Wolfenstein review may have the answers to those questions - to say he felt the game was lacking would be a major understatement.

Currently the company is working on Singularity, with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 set to ship on multiple platforms very soon.

Deadpool Movie a Go

Ryan Reynolds will reprise the role of Deadpool, which he recently played in  X-Men Origins: Wolverine film, according to E! Online. The network confirmed with Fox that the film has been green lighted and is in the works. This should prove confusing for fans of the Blade films, who remember him as a wise cracking vampire hunter. Rumors had been circulating about a possible Deadpool solo game title being considered by the developers of the Wolverine movie tie-in game.

Deadpool was created by comic artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, and first appeared in The New Mutants #98 - February 1991. Known affectionately as the “Merc with a Mouth”, Deadpool is a high-tech gun-for-hire known for his healing factor, smart assed remarks, dark comedy, and pop-culture references. He is also tied into the Canadian government’s paramilitary Weapon X program, which created Wolverine - and gave Deadpool his healing abilities.

Since the film is a go, we can expect that Activision is working on something related to this game - even if it is not talking about it.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Film Sequel Approved?

According to the Variety by way of E! Online, Hugh Jackman’s successful film, X-Men Origins: wolverine has already been green lighted for a sequel. The film worldwide gross is already at $158.2 million and counting, so this isn’t surprising news. Jackman will of course reprise his role as the admantium clawed mad man in the film,  which may be set in Japan with a story arc about samurai. You know what would have been a great idea, film makers? How about not killing the X-Men off in the last movie? Yeah, hindsight is 20/20…

Sales numbers for the game aren’t in yet, but judging by Evan Narcisse’s review, it’s not worth the plastic it is burned onto.

So why mention the film here? Because it will inevitably be made into a video game and more than likely published by Activision. So now you know, and as GI Joe (another film to turned Activision game, for the record) knowing is half the battle.

Editor’s note:  edited a portion of the story to clarify a remark about an X-Men comic book story arc.

Activision Predicts Impressive Q1 Results

Activision this morning announced that it will do better in the first quarter than it had previously forecasted - thanks mostly to strong performances by Call of Duty: World at War, World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero titles. Activision had forecasted first quarter revenues of $860 million and earnings of 8 cents a share.

The company says that it is “tracking ahead” of its prior outlook. Excluding the usual charges, Activision predicts revenues of $550 million and 3 cents a share. Analysts had revenue pegged at $569.32 million and 4 cents a share.

“Global consumer response to the Call of Duty and Guitar Hero franchises and Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft remains strong despite the challenging economic environment,” said Activision CEO Robert Kotick. “We exceeded our quarterly financial goals as the video game market continues to grow and our franchises continue to perform.”

Kotick also had a positive outlook on upcoming games doing well later in the year. Those games include Transformers, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Guitar Hero Smash Hits.