With the merger between Activision and Blizzard almost complete. Vivendi is starting to feel the pain of new management.

“I’ve had numerous sources tell me that development teams on all of Vivendi’s games now have to essentially pitch their projects to Activision executives,” explains Variety’s Ben Fritz.

“Until the merger is technically complete, work proceeds as usual, but once it’s over, Activision will start making some decisions. And it seems very unlikely that everything at Sierra will keep going as it has been.

“Just like when a new executive teams takes over at a film studio, some projects in development get killed and others get changed as the new folks in charge start establishing their own tastes and corporate priorities…

“……Activision obviously made the deal to get its hands on the biggest MMO, and really the biggest game, in the industry. Everything else is basically an afterthought. Which leaves all of those making the afterthoughts in an uncertain position.”

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