Yesterday Vivendi Games announced that the merger between it’s Activision firm, makers of such games as Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Tony Hawk and Blizzard which developed the hugely popular World of Warcraft MMORPG,  has now been finalized. The new merged company will be traded under the name  Activision-Blizzard. According to company projections Activision-Blizzard is expected to have a $3.8 billion dollars in combined revenue during the 2007 calender year and it’s operating budget will exceed that of any of the other large third party developers. The company is also expected to bring a even broader amount of valuable assets to ensure the continuation of the successes both companies have made in the video game industry.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, the Chariman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer for Vivendi, stated that the company was “excited about the opportunities for Activision Blizzard as a broader entertainment software platform” and that Vivendi believed that “this transaction will create significant value for Activision Blizzard and Vivendi stockholders.” The President and Chief Executive Officer of Blizzard, Mike Morhaime, described his company as “ an exceptional fit for Activision’s highly profitable console games business” and that the merger would continue Blizzard’s goal to “continue creating great games for Blizzard gamers around the world” with the help of Activision which would “help us to do that even better than before."  The Chairman and CEO of Activision, Robert Kotick, also offered these words regarding the merger: "This is an outstanding transaction for Activision and our stockholders, as well as a pivotal event in the continuing transformation of the interactive entertainment industry.” Mr. Kotick also added that “ By joining forces with Vivendi Games, we will become the immediate leader in the highly profitable online games business”.