Activision studios to focus on one title at a time
Activision executive VP of worldwide studios Dave Stohl has said the company has moved away from a business model where multiple studios work on more than one project at a time.
Speaking with Joystiq during E3, Stohl said this kind of thinking no longer made sense this day and age.
"It doesn't make sense anymore," he said. "You've really got to focus.
"People want the freedom to put all their resources against the big opportunity, and that's what we're trying to do. We saw it kinda coalesce around one or two titles a publisher.
"On the Guitar Hero side, yeah, we're not pursuing the strategy of doing as many SKUs as we were. And that's a good thing, because that will simplify the strategy around one release on the Guitar Hero side and focus on innovation there.
"So the opportunities and projects are just bigger; they're more challenging. And it absolutely takes focus. I mean, it really does."
This means that Activision studios like 7 Studios, Beenox, Bizarre Creations, FreeStyleGames, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, Neversoft, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, and Vicarious Visions will only be working on one project at a time.
Stohl also said Activision's looking to create more games with a connected network where online play and community is promoted among users.
"The fact that Call of Duty is a game that really promotes a connected network -- this big backend environment that promotes competition, that promotes play with your buddies -- I think those are important things we want to see in all of our games," Stohl said.
"That doesn't mean that every game is a natural hardcore, 'player versus player' kind of experience, but there's a certain kind of community -- social connected piece -- to it."
Current games in the works at Activision include: Call of Duty: Black Ops, Monster Jam 2011, DJ Hero 2, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Wipeout: The Game, GoldenEye 007, and True Crime: Hong Kong, among others.