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No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…

This week is all about major business moves, so get set to hear a bunch of executivespeak.

Activision can now be considered an “independent” company because CEO Bobby Kotick and other investors have bought the company from Vivendi for $8 billion. And speaking of the indie movement, Microsoft has decided to allow independent developers to follow Sony and Nintendo’s lead. Reversing a previous policy decision, Big Redmond has announced that indie developers will be able to self-publish their games on the Xbox One.

Finally, Precursor Games is taking another crack at funding Shadow of the Eternals, their spiritual sequel to Eternal Darkness, through Kickstarter. Those crazy kids have been through a lot, but they just might do it this time.

That’s all the business news we’ve got, but you can find even more of this week’s new news after the break. (more…)

It was a sad, sad day when Nintendo announced that Mario Kart 8, the first game in the series scheduled for release on the Wii U, wouldn’t be available until Spring 2014. But, did you know that Nintendo had another Mario Kart game in development?

Say hello to Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, the latest arcade edition of the franchise from Namco Bandai.

Available exclusively in Japan, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX adds an interesting twist to the Mario Kart formula: two players can team up and form a tank that shoots Green Shells. The gliders from Mario Kart 7 have also been incorporated into GP DX. It’s unknown if the game will receive an official American release (I’m pretty sure it’s unlikely) and it’s definitely not coming to the Wii U anytime soon.

Which is a travesty, because Mario Kart Arcade GP DX looks awesome. Did I mention that two players can team up and transform into a tank that shoots Green Shells? Because you can totally do that!

Activision Blizzard is one of the biggest behemoths in all of gaming, so it’s easy to forget that the company is actually just a small piece of Vivendi, a French conglomerate that is five times as large. That was yesterday. Today, an investment group (lead by CEO Bobby Kotick and Co-Chairman Brian Kelly) has announced they’re going to purchase Activision Blizzard and that, going forward, the game publisher will operate as an independent company.

In addition to the 172 million shares (valued at $2.34 billion or $13.60 per share) purchased by Kotick and Kelly, Activision itself will purchase 429 million shares from Vivendi for $5.83 billion. When taken together, these two transactions will make Activision a majority publicly-owned company. The sale should be completed by September and Vivendi will still own about 12% of the outstanding shares.

“These transactions together represent a tremendous opportunity for Activision Blizzard and all its shareholders, including Vivendi. We should emerge even stronger—an independent company with a best-in-class franchise portfolio and the focus and flexibility to drive long-term shareholder value and expand our leadership position as one of the world’s most important entertainment companies. The transactions announced today will allow us to take advantage of attractive financing markets while still retaining more than $3 billion cash on hand to preserve financial stability,” Kotick said.

As of 8:30 AM, pre-market trading saw Activision’s stock rise $2.74 (18%) to $17.92. Their shareholders must be very pleased.