The Securities and Exchange Commission is now formally investigating Activision and its stock-option granting practices. When stock-options are granted to employees, they get the right to buy stocks at a fixed price, but the problem is that some executives from Activison (and THQ, Take-Two, and EA, are all under suspicion as well) backdate their options so the current value is maximized.

Activision has an internal investigation regarding the matter, but they cleared all executives of wrongdoing. The SEC apparently thinks otherwise.