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[Thebeardofknowledge]

Full press release: http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=941323

Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced the launch of Activision Blizzard Studios, a new film and television studio devoted to creating original content based on the company's extensive library of iconic and globally-recognized intellectual properties. Activision Blizzard's owned content includes some of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world, including Call of Duty®, Skylanders®, Diablo®, Hearthstone® and StarCraft®. Former Disney executive Nick van Dyk has been tapped to co-head the division, along with a senior creative executive who will be announced soon.

Activision Blizzard Studios' first production will be "Skylanders™ Academy," an animated TV series based on the award-winning Skylanders® game. Currently in production under the supervision of showrunner Eric Rogers ("Futurama"), "Skylanders™ Academy" will feature the voices of Justin Long ("Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Ask Me Anything") as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale ("Phineas and Ferb," "High School Musical") as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks ("Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul") as Eruptor and Norm Macdonald ("Saturday Night Live") as Glumshanks. Additional voice talent includes Harland Williams and Richard Horvitz. The award-winning, $3 billion Skylanders® franchise has sold through more than 250 million toys since pioneering the toys-to-life category in 2011i.

Another near-term initiative for Activision Blizzard Studios will be the development of a robust cinematic universe based on the Call of Duty franchise. Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare remains the number one-selling title on next-generation consolesii and today marks the launch of the highly-anticipated new Call of Duty®: Black Ops III. Activision Blizzard Studios envisions a series of Call of Duty feature films as well as the possibility of television adaptations.

"Activision Blizzard is home to some of the most successful entertainment franchises in history, across any medium. With the launch of Activision Blizzard Studios, our engaged fans can now watch the games they love come to life across film and television," said Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. "Activision Blizzard Studios is yet another way we're celebrating our players and fans, and we expect that our film and television productions will entertain and delight whole new audiences, as well. I'm excited that Nick and his team will be leading this important new growth opportunity for Activision Blizzard."

kill me while camping in a corner if old

 

[Bronx-Man]

 

[Penguin]

Full press release: http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=941323




kill me while camping in a corner if old

Just a smudge, though guess was covered more in gaming

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1136198&highlight=skylanders+tv

 

[DrArchon]

CoD campaigns are already Hollywood movies in tone and style. Seems like a perfect fit to make them actual Hollywood movies.

Wonder if Kevin Spacey will come back.

 

[strafer]

Black Hawk Down
Saving Private Ryan
Lone Survivor
The Thin Red Line

There's your CoD cinematic universe.

 

[Kinyou]

Skylanders TV show makes a ton of sense to me. Call of duty movies a whole lot less. I mean some of the strongest moments of the games are usually when they imitate movies, so this just feels backwards.

 

[internetwolf]

CoD campaigns are already Hollywood movies in tone and style. Seems like a perfect fit to make them actual Hollywood movies.

Wonder if Kevin Spacey will come back.

OMG PLEASE

 

[Dabanton]

Speaking for myself but i suspect many will share my thoughts and say that they don't play CoD for it's story which since MW2 has been a garbled mess.

Skylanders is more like it. That has a reason to exist.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

 

[Nirolak]

Activision Blizzard's owned content includes some of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world, including Call of Duty®, Skylanders®, Diablo®, Hearthstone® and StarCraft®.

Between "Hearthstone" heroes for Heroes of the Storm and this, I see the Warcraft brand name is slowly being changed.

 

[UnforgivenTwin]

I always laugh so hard at this

 

[Mr. Sam]

It seems every other property listed in the article would be a better fit for a cinematic adaptation.

As for "cinematic universe," they should apply the same logic to that as you would a franchise - make one movie, make it well, make people want more.

I can't believe CoD might make it into the cinema before Halo.

 

[Toa TAK]

Does this mean we'll see THE NUMBERS MASON, or Mendnenednezzz, or DIMITRI, or five years ago I watched 30,000 men die in a blink of an eye, and the world just fucking watched on the small screen?

 

[Omega]

i thought this was one of those "hey wouldnt it be cool if this was a thing" thread

not an actual hey this is a thing thread

 

[Jarrod38]

And when you buy the sacks when watching the CoD movies you can consider it DLC.

 

[Succinct Verbosity]

Seems like a bad idea to announce this before seeing how the WoW movie performs.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

Awesome!

 

[Shaanyboi]

It'll be an explosion-heavy military movie, a shit ton of American jingoism, and someone named Price.

 

[Ghost Slayer]

I can imagine the first director, Michel Bay

 

[Toa TAK]

It'll be an explosion-heavy military movie, a shit ton of American jingoism, and someone named Price.

If they had the balls, they would do it oppositely like COD4, WAW, and MW2 itself did

 

[Ithil]

Call of Duty funnily enough went downhill nearly as soon as they started trying to give it a plot. It was at its peak in CoD2 when the campaign was just fighting in battles in WW2, the only story being the progression of the war. No third rate action movie plot involved.

 

[RS4-]

But London is Falling is already coming out.

 

[Toa TAK]

Call of Duty funnily enough went downhill nearly as soon as they started trying to give it a plot. It was at its peak in CoD2 when the campaign was just fighting in battles in WW2, the only story being the progression of the war. No third rate action movie plot involved.

Eh, that's not entirely true. COD4 was simple, but it's story worked well. WAW-Black Ops II, while crazy, nailed what it was trying to be.

 

[brandonh83]

Oh, god.

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Price is Thanos

 

[Ithil]

Eh, that's not entirely true. COD4 was simple, but it's story worked well. WAW-Black Ops II, while crazy, nailed what it was trying to be.

Bad?

 

[Busty]

So that's why both the most recent COD games were set in the future with the campaign against robots and PMCs, because they are the COD iterations that they intend to turn into films.

The Modern Warfare and BLOPS games (and to a lesser extent Ghosts) all feature the likes of China and/or Russia as the antagonists. That's fine for a Western focused video game but in film and TV terms they are two huge markets that Activision won't want to piss off...., so shooting robots and cyborgs it is.

I suppose they could also spin the likes of BLOPS Zombie mode and perhaps a prequel set during the PS1 era World War Two games into their own films that like with the main films Marvel universe style.

Personally I don't see anyone being even remotely interested in a COD film that isn't based on the Modern Warfare games but whatever...., they are likely to be awful even if they do ever see the light of day.

 

[Slayven]

Black ops 3 is the worse writing I seen in years.

 

[wenis]

I gagged a little reading that.

 

[Toa TAK]

Bad?

Awesome. There's a reason why it gets put up so high on the campaign rankings. Even recently.

Black ops 3 is the worse writing I seen in years.

Ah GOD, let's not talk about that. Even worse than Ghosts somehow.

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

Can you imagine the audience for this?

Wouldn't want to be in a packed movie theater with them, yikes.

As for the film...

 

[Symphonia]

Didn't we already have a Call of Duty movie in the form of Saving Private Ryan?

 

[friskykillface]

Zombie mode could easily work for movies or tv

Zombie mania is still huge and Nolan the god will be on the big screen , do it activistion


I liked modern warfares 1/2 story and black ops 1

 

[Slayven]

Awesome. There's a reason why it gets put up so high on the campaign rankings. Even recently.


Ah GOD, let's not talk about that. Even worse than Ghosts somehow.

Thank God the game play is aces

 

[Toa TAK]

Thank God the game play is aces

Story was a failure, but you're right, at least everything else in the game is great.

 

[Kinyou]

Didn't we already have a Call of Duty movie in the form of Saving Private Ryan?

And Enemy at the gates, The rock, Red Dawn...

 

[Gorillaz]

At one point years back I wanted a mw movie


Today tho? Meh

 

[Mr. Smiley]

Honestly, I expected this sooner.

 

[wildfire]

They want the investment into their single player campaign to be money well invested. This is advertising, so to speak.

 

[JustAnotherMike]

Isn't call of duty three separate universes since the 3 studios make their own stories? I never heard of any of them relating to each other in any way. Wonder which one will draw the short straw.

 

[Thelonelykoopa]

Only if the movie features people getting shot multiple times and healing all their wounds when they get into cover.

 

[Enosh]

Can you imagine the audience for this?

Wouldn't want to be in a packed movie theater with them, yikes.

dude you post on gaf and seem to be into games

stones, glasshouses etc etc

 

[zeemumu]

I don't think they'll do well.

 

[explodet]

Can't wait.

Only if the movie features people getting shot multiple times and healing all their wounds when they get into cover.

I've been saying for a while that Call of Duty games are moving closer and closer to Looney Tunes cartoons.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Yay more Jingoism. Michael Bay will gladly helm the franchise.

 

[studyguy]

Don't really understand what a CoD movie entails that we haven't already seen in better form in existing action films.

 

[DrArchon]

Don't really understand what a CoD movie entails that we haven't already seen in better form in existing action films.

A really valuable brand name, and that's about it.

 

[Busty]

A really valuable brand name, and that's about it.

Valuable in the gaming space. Gaming IP haven't transitioned well in the past and I'm really not sure that COD will change that.

Call Of Duty is an experience, do you really think that the hardcore COD online MP fans will turn out in droves to see the COD 'storyline' furthered in the cinema?

 

[DrArchon]

Valuable in the gaming space. Gaming IP haven't transitioned well in the past and I'm really not sure that COD will change that.

Call Of Duty is an experience, do you really think that the hardcore COD online MP fans will turn out in droves to see the COD 'storyline' furthered in the cinema?

The hardcore ones probably won't, but the casual players and the subset that really likes the single player campaigns might. Plus there's all the people out there with a vague knowledge of CoD who'll see ads for a movie and say "I've heard of CoD. A lot of people like it, but I'm not a vidya game person. Maybe I should check out the movie".

At least, that's what the higher ups are thinking. I agree that this probably won't take off like CoD has in the gaming sphere.

 

[old manatee]

CODCU is GOAT CU for bloodless pg-13 violence.