Infogrames Agrees D&D, Hasbro License Change

Infogrames Entertainment, parent company of the Atari group, has announced a new agreement with Hasbro to extend the exploitation of intellectual property rights to the Dungeons & Dragons universe until 2017. The agreement, part of the group's recently-announced relaunch strategy, falls under an exclusive license covering all interactive formats, including online and mobile. According to the company, as a component of its plan to focus its investment on major franchises with significant potential, the agreement covers all current and future products that are part of that universe, including Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate. Two new games have already been announced for the 2007-2008 fiscal year: Neverwinter Nights 2 Expansion Pack for PC and Dungeons & Dragons Tactics for PSP. The agreement also covers Hasbro's purchase of digital gaming rights to its own nine franchises (Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk, Game of Life, Clue, Yahtzee, Battleship, Boggle and Simon), for $19.5 million -- $4 million of which will be paid to Atari Inc. The company says the sale will have no significant impact on revenue for the current fiscal year. Infogrames bought Hasbro Interactive, including these rights, in 2001. “This agreement represents a reaffirmation of our partnership with Hasbro," said Patrick Leleu, Infogrames chairman and CEO. "It is an important step in our business strategy that will allow us to keep and strengthen a franchise with significant potential, while giving the Group additional resources to invest in the relaunch of its publishing business."