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E3: Activision To Open Studio on Dreamworks Campus

Major game publisher Activision and DreamWorks Animation SKG have announced that Activision will be opening a dedicated studio facility on the DreamWorks campus to allow simultaneous film and game co-development.

Simon Carless, Blogger

May 10, 2006

1 Min Read
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Following on the heels of their multi-year strategic alliance, major game publisher Activision and DreamWorks Animation SKG have announced that Activision will be opening a dedicated studio facility on the DreamWorks campus. The move, which "establishes an unprecedented level of collaboration between a Hollywood studio and a video game company", according to a public statement will facilitate simultaneous co-development between DreamWorks' CG feature films and Activision games based on those films. In November 2005, Activision signed a multi-year agreement with DreamWorks Animation for the exclusive video game rights to all current and future console platforms, PC, and handheld devices for DreamWorks' upcoming feature films -- "Bee Movie," "Kung Fu Panda," "Rex Havoc" and "How to Train Your Dragon." The deal also extended Activision's rights beyond "Shrek the Third" to include potential future films in the "Shrek" franchise. The company's alliance with DreamWorks has resulted in more than $300 million in video game sales worldwide. "This announcement marks an unparalleled step in the convergence between Hollywood and video games," stated Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO, Activision, Inc. "For the first time, we will be able to align our games' production schedules with the movies' from the pre-production phase onward. This will allow us to fully leverage the movie assets and storylines, in addition to collaborating closely with the talented production teams at DreamWorks to develop storylines that expand the movie experience in new and compelling ways."

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About the Author

Simon Carless

Blogger

Simon Carless is the founder of the GameDiscoverCo agency and creator of the popular GameDiscoverCo game discoverability newsletter. He consults with a number of PC/console publishers and developers, and was previously most known for his role helping to shape the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Conference for many years.

He is also an investor and advisor to UK indie game publisher No More Robots (Descenders, Hypnospace Outlaw), a previous publisher and editor-in-chief at both Gamasutra and Game Developer magazine, and sits on the board of the Video Game History Foundation.

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