Activision moving away from licensed games focus

Activision has revealed it will release fewer licensed games in 2013.

After the disappointment of 007 Legends this announcement comes as no surprise.

The publisher has released a statement in regards to their new direction:

“In 2013, we expect to release fewer games based on license properties and as a result are realigning our structure to better reflect the market opportunities and our slate.”

Activision also confirmed 30 full-time employees had been impacted globally by the publisher’s change of direction.

“Approximately, 30 full-time employees have been impacted globally, which represents approximately one half of one percent of Activision Blizzard's employee population.”

The question is where does this leave the 007 license?

Will Activision hold onto it, or will another publisher pick it up?

Activision is yet to announce if they have future plans for the 007 license from 2013 onwards.

(Update) James Bond games pulled from Activision and Valve’s online stores

Update via MI6-HQ 04 Jan 2013  - The 007 titles have been removed from Sony's online PlayStation Store and are no longer available to purchase and download.

The Xbox 360 Games on Demand service has also removed "007 Legends".

Original Post 02 Jan 2013 - 007 Legends, Blood Stone and Quantum of Solace have been unexpectedly removed from Activision and Valve’s online stores today.

The three titles were developed by Eurocom, Bizarre Creations and Treyarch, and published by Activision.

The removal of certain titles from online stores is often linked to license expiry. Incidents similar to this have occurred in the past with series such as OutRun.

Published by Sega and developed by Sumo Digital, the OutRun series made use of the Ferrari license brand. Once Sega’s rights to the license expired, OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast was pulled from several online stores (including Steam) in 2010.

Following this, Sega announced the removal of Outrun Online Arcade from the PlayStation Network in 2010 and Xbox Live in 2011 due to their contract expiry with Ferrari.

OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast and OutRun Online Arcade are still able to be downloaded by gamers who bought the titles before they were pulled.

The same is likely to apply to 007 Legends, Blood Stone and Quantum of Solace across the platforms they have been removed from.

Eurocom shuts down

 

British developer Eurocom has closed its doors after being in the video game industry for close-to 25 years.

Over its lifetime Eurocom was known as the primary developer of the James Bond video games.

In a statement issued to website Eurogamer, the developer said it was unable to secure a new contract or pay outstanding wages. 

“The Administrator and the company's directors have been negotiating with customers surrounding new contracts to develop console games, however these contracts could not be secured in time and due to insufficient funds to pay outstanding wages, Eurocom today entered Administration.”

The Directors of Eurocom also released a message thanking staff for their hard work over the years.

"The Directors of Eurocom would like to offer their heartfelt thanks to all their staff that have been made redundant at this difficult time, and show their appreciation of all of their hard work in consistently delivering exceptional games."

Eurocom was founded in 1988 to develop games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and was responsible for seven James Bond video games over its lifetime.

James Bond Jr. (NES & SNES, 1991), The World Is Not Enough (N64, 2004), James Bond 007: Nightfire (GCN, PS2, XBOX, 2002), Quantum of Solace (PS2, 2008), GoldenEye 007 (Wii, 2010), GoldenEye 007: Reloaded (XBOX 360, PS3, 2011) and 007 Legends (XBOX 360, PS3, PC, Wii U 2012).  

Their most recent release 007 Legends was poorly received by critics and failed to gain sales momentum.

007 Gamer wishes all the people at Eurocom the very best.

Eurocom faces tough times

007 Legends developer Eurocom has suffered a major blow recently announcing a number of redundancies within the company as part of restructuring efforts.

Director Hugh Binns said Eurocom had fought to save as many jobs as possible, but the decline in console game popularity resulted in a number of projects falling through and leaving them with no other options.

“Eurocom has retained a core staff of just under 50 employees and will be focusing mainly on mobile opportunities moving forward,” he said.

Beforehand Eurocom was known to have more than 200 employees.

The developer’s next release is 007 Legends on the Wii U.

Free Skyfall DLC available for PS3 version of 007 Legends

 

Free Skyfall DLC is now available for 007 Legends on the PS3. Head over to the PSN store now to download it. Xbox 360 and PC gamers will have to wait until the 20th of November.
 

As expected, the DLC allows players to experience Skyfall on a whole new level.

The DLC is completely free to all owners of 007 Legends.

Skyfall out now!

After a considerably long wait, James Bond is back. Daniel Craig returns as 007 for the 23rd Bond film, Skyfall.

Skyfall also marks the 50th anniversary of James Bond.

To the people behind Bond and his latest outing on the big screen, 007 Gamer would like to say congratulations.

Skyfall is out today in the UK and will be released in other locations worldwide over the coming months. For a full list of worldwide dates, visit the official Skyfall release page here.