Activision Blizzard Facing Even More Potential Class Action Lawsuits Over Bungie Split

We're not even through the end of the first month of 2019 and we've gotten more big news than expected. Perhaps the biggest story to surface was the divorce between Activision and the developers at Bungie, who will now run the Destiny franchise independently. But apparently there's going to be even more legal fallout over the deal.

A new report from WCCFTech indicates that two additional law firms are looking into filing class action lawsuits against Activision Blizzard, as they indicate that the company provided false and possibly misleading public statements ahead of the actual split between the companies. This follows a previous report from us regarding the publisher being under investigation for fraud.

The report notes, "The Class Period is for investors who have purchased shares of the company between August 2nd, 2018 and January 10, 2019; interested parties will have to take action no later than March 19, 2019."

The full posts from each of the law firms are on this page, but here's a quick sum-up from each one:

Rosen Law Firm- "According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the termination of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Bungie Inc.'s partnership, giving Bungie full publishing rights and responsibilities for the Destiny franchise, a series of science fiction-themed video games, was imminent; (2) the termination of the two companies' relationship would foreseeably have a significant negative impact on Activision Blizzard's revenues; and (3) as a result, Activision Blizzard's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages."

The Schell Law Firm- "According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. Activision Blizzard's termination of its partnership with Bungie Inc., which would give full publishing rights for the Destiny gaming franchise to Bungie, was about to occur. The end of the agreement between the two Companies was likely to have a considerable negative impact on Activision Blizzard's revenues moving forward. Based on these facts, the Company's public statements throughout the class period were false and materially misleading. When the market learned the truth about Activision Blizzard (ATVI), investors suffered damages."

Activision Blizzard hasn't made any kind of statement since the split, but it'll be interesting to see where this investigation does, especially with more law firms involved.

What do you think about the whole Activision Blizzard scenario? Reach out to me on Twitter at @TheDCD!

(Hat tip to WCCFTech for the scoop!)