I cannot see either bit of software being phased out. The majority of movie work is done in Maya and the same goes for Max and games. Both apps have a future and Autodesk would only shoot themselves in the foot by stopping the development and production of this great software.

I am a Maya Fan thru and thru, having used XSI and Max I will always come back to Maya time and time again. Its inbuilt dynamics is one of the best on the market (for an app standard).

Check out this article on the merger/takeover.

Click Me

It contains all the info on the merger. Although I was not happy about it at first, I feel Autodesk will only advance the integration between these two software packages making studios in both the Film/TV and Games Industries happier. No more Max only Games Projects