Atari, Hasbro, and Wizards of the Coast Come to Digital Rights Agreement

With release of the Heroes of Neverwinter Facebook game on the horizon, Atari, Hasbro, and Wizards of the Coast have come to an agreement regarding the digital rights of Dungeons and Dragons across various platforms. This stems from a 2009 complaint lodged by Hasbro against Atari and a counter complaint filed soon after by Atari in return.

From WotC:

Wizards of the Coast LLC, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) and Atari, S.A. announced today the settlement and resolution of the complaint against Atari, S.A. and the counterclaims filed by Atari, S.A. against Hasbro, Inc. filed in December 2009 in regards to the Dungeons & Dragons brand.

Digital licensing rights for Dungeons & Dragons have been returned to Hasbro. Atari will continue to develop and market several games under license from Hasbro and Wizards, including the #1 Xbox LIVE® hit Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale and the upcoming Heroes of Neverwinter for Facebook. Additional settlement details remain private.

In addition, the acquisition of Cryptic Studios by Perfect World Entertainment Inc. from Atari in July 2011 has delayed the Neverwinter PC Game scheduled for release later this year. Perfect World will be investing in a more immersive experience for release in late 2012.

I’m sure all parties involved realized there is plenty of money to be made out there off all things D&D…

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Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...

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