Hasbro Extends Game, Toy Rights Deal With Marvel

Hasbro will keep the rights to make video games and toys based on Marvel superhero movies and brands until 2017, thanks to a new deal with Marvel and Spider-Man Merchandising. This represents an extension on the current deal that runs through 2011. Except for Japan, Hasbro's rights to games and toys based on Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Avengers, X-Men, Thor and Captain America, among thousands of others, are global. The extension agreement guarantees $100 million in royalties with the potential of up to an additional $140 million provided that the games and other products come out close to the associated films and "satisfy certain criteria." Hasbro's next wave of products based on Marvel characters will come out this year with the launch of Activision's X-Men Origins: Wolverine based on the May 1 films. The company is also making plans around upcoming film releases like Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, although it didn't specify whether these would all be video games specifically. In 2009, Hasbro is bringing to market a line of products based on the upcoming May 1 release of the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as well as great classic lines behind Spider-Man, Iron Man, Super Hero Squad & the Marvel Universe. Hasbro is also planning product and marketing programs based on several upcoming releases like Iron Man 2, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, and The Avengers. "Hasbro’s ability to secure this license through 2017 speaks to our execution as brand stewards and our ability to translate Marvel and Spider-Man Merchandising’s amazing intellectual properties into great toys and games," says John Frascotti, Hasbro’s global chief marketing officer. "Based on our successful relationship to date, and in looking at the scheduled slate of theatrical releases in the years ahead, we feel very fortunate to have access to these great brands for such a length of time."