The nearly 20-month long legal battle between Atari and Hasbro has concluded with an out-of-court settlement. Hasbro has taken back the digital licensing rights to the Dungeons & Dragons brand owned by its subsidiary, Wizards of the Coast. The full terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The lawsuit was first filed in December of 2009, with Hasbro alleging that Atari has sub-licensed the brand to Namco Bandai, a competing toymaker. Atari was on the hook for fraud and five counts of breach of contract. Post-settlement, Atari retains the right to make D&D titles, but under direct license from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to the whole process. The upcoming Neverwinter MMO is currently being developed by Cryptic Studios, a developer recently sold by Atari to Perfect World Entertainment. Perfect World has made Cryptic push back the release date for Neverwinter from 2011 to late 2012, demanding a “more immersive experience.” So those looking forward to Neverwinter will have to wait another winter to get their fix.
[Via GameSpot]
