Vivendi Games (Page 6)

Vivendi Universal Games has announced that 350 staff have been laid off as part of the firm's restructuring efforts, representing some 40 per cent of its US workforce - with the toughest cuts coming at the Sierra operation.

VU Games' improving market position hasn't helped the divisions' financial fortunes in the first quarter of FY 04/05 as its operating losses increase by almost 61 per cent compared to the same period last year.

VUG reveals nine new titles for its concerted assault on the pre-Christmas High Street spend, with new Crash and Spyro titles, but still no confirmed date for Half-Life 2 or Starcraft: Ghost

Publisher Interplay has announced a return to operating profitability in its full year figures, but the company still has significant cashflow difficulties which are affecting its ability to meet lease and payroll obligations.

Media conglomerate Vivendi Universal has announced its full year financial results, revealing that while the group as a whole moved into operating profit, the troubled games division reported a major loss.

Following the success of Radical Entertainment's The Simpsons: Hit & Run over the Christmas period, Vivendi Universal Games has signed a six-game deal with the developer, including a purchase option.

Media conglomerate Vivendi Universal has announced its revenue figures for the fourth quarter and full year of 2003, revealing that the company's videogames division suffered a 28 per cent drop in revenues during the year.

Valve's massively anticipated first person shooter, Half-Life 2, will not meet the April date announced for the game last year by publisher Vivendi, and is now set for a summer release according to a statement from the developer.

Allen Adham, a co-founder and vice president of successful development studio Blizzard, has resigned from the company to pursue a career in finance, although a spokesperson claims that he has not cut ties completely.

US comic publishing giant Marvel Enterprises has announced the formation of a new group within the company which will focus specifically on the development of video games based on its wide range of character franchises.

Online sources are reporting that as many as 70 employees at Vivendi Universal Games have been laid off in the past week, following the announcement of another poor set of quarterly results for the division.

The performance of Vivendi Universal Games has continued to decline, with the company's third quarter results revealing a massive €58 million operating loss and falling revenues.

Third quarter results reported by Vivendi Universal show a significant decline in revenues for the company's games division, continuing a downward trend which has carried throughout the year to date.

Publisher Interplay has reached a settlement in its lawsuit against Vivendi Universal Games over their distribution agreement in North America and Asia-Pacific, and the agreement will now be continued through August 2005.

French newspaper Les Echos has reported that Vivendi has refused a substantial new offer for the Vivendi Universal Games business unit, and is still hoping to realise a billion dollars from the sale of the division.

New question marks have been raised over the launch date of Valve’s Half-Life 2, which is thought to have been pushed back to 2004, with EB Games in the USA now listing the title for a November launch once again.

French conglomerate Vivendi has finally agreed a sale for its entertainment business, with the media empire - including Universal Studios and Vivendi Universal Games - being sold to General Electric in a multi-billion dollar deal.

British developer Argonaut Games has announced a pre-tax loss of £10.9 million for the year ended July 31 2003, largely due to the cancellation of deals for two key products - but a strong pipeline promises good performance this Christmas.

Vivendi Universal Games chief executive Christophe Ramboz has stated that highly anticipated PC title Half-Life 2 will not ship in time for Christmas, following the distribution of source code from the game online.

Development studio Valve Software has seen the entire source code to Half-Life 2 - including source from some of the company's middleware partners - leaked to the Internet following a breach in the company's security.

Interplay has ended its distribution agreement with Vivendi Universal Games and says that it is considering legal action against the publisher following a dispute over the payment of royalties.

The game publishing division of multinational media empire Vivendi Universal has announced its results for the first half of the current fiscal year, revealing a significant loss and a drop in turnover.