Activision Acquires Raven

Activision announced Thursday that that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Madison, Wisconsin-based Raven Software, creators of Heretic and Hexen, as a wholly owned subsidiary.

The acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of August. Raven founders Brian and Steven Raffel will continue to manage the company's studio operation. Raven's shareholders will receive 1,040,000 shares of Activision common stock as part of the deal.

Activision was already set to publish the highly anticipated Hexen II, currently in development at Raven and executive produced by id Software. The game is slated for a September release.

Raven's other high-profile fall title, Take No Prisoners, another first person action game, will be released by Red Orb.