In a recent article on Gamasutra, Mike Hickey -- an industry analyst from Janco Partners -- has been examining Blizzard's World of Warcraft success as the stock market prepares for the merger of two video game giants.

Hickey's research provided him with some very interesting information on World of Warcraft's subscriber churn rate, with it coming in at a reported 4 to 5% per month -- staggeringly low, much more so than many other subscription-based services.

Hickey also raised Activision's share price from $20 to $35 in advance of the merger and noted: "We expect the Company's WoW franchise will provide a strong source of continued growth. However, with a multitude of competitive MMOs positioned to enter the channel, potential subscriber fatigue and competitive options could undermine subscriber growth projections."

While brief, it's a very interesting analysis of World of Warcraft's success and what it will no doubt mean for Activision Blizzard's success on the stock market -- a good example of Vivendi's comments of this "bringing out the real value in Blizzard."