A New Driver For Ubisoft News
Chris Leyton
14/07/2006
Ubisoft acquires the Driver series and reflections from Atari...
The Great Atari Sell-Off continues, with Ubisoft today announcing that it has acquired the rights to the Driver series.
In a 19 million euro (£13.1 million) agreement with Atari and Reflections Interactive, Ubisoft has acquired the intellectual property and technology rights to the brand, along with most of the assets and all of the personnel at Reflections.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing and is expected to conclude in Ubisoft's second quarter of fiscal 2007.
Whether or not Ubisoft can reverse the trend of the Driver series remains to be seen, however, it's certainly an interesting move for the French publisher as it continues to expand into different areas. Exactly how the franchise will develop when many saw it hitting a dead-end will also be an intriguing element for both Ubisoft and Reflections; however, there's little doubt that £13.1 million for a 14-million selling series represents a shrewd investment.
"We are thrilled with this acquisition which will allow us to add a prestigious title to our catalogue and to enter into the driving games segment, one of the most important segments in the gaming industry. With more than 14 million units sold throughout the world, Driver(r) is one of the most successful brands in the history of video games. We look forward to leveraging the unique knowledge of the Ubisoft studios to ensure that Driver will be one of the leading brands of the next generation of consoles." said Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft.