Riddick and Ghostbusters picked up by Atari
Dropped franchises saved, but on which formats?
It was the news that the new Ghostbusters game had been put to pasture that really soured the Activision Blizzard merger with Vivendi - especially considering the latest mobile game was pretty damn good.
But Atari has now stepped in to buy up the rights to not only the Ghostbusters game, but to continue the Chronicles of Riddick property as a video game franchise. Details are still quite sketchy, though it's believed Atari is looking to release the Ghostbusters game to coincide with the film's 25th anniversary next year, and intends to continue Riddick's story after the events of the popular Escape at Butcher Bay title.
There's no news on precisely which formats both franchises will be appearing on, but hopefully Vivendi's original intention to blanket the games market will hold true.
"Riddick is a high-quality franchise with a strong future that presents a great opportunity for Atari's portfolio," Jim Wilson, CEO of Atari, told Variety.
This is a significant move for Atari, which was saved from the brink of bankruptcy at the beginning of this year (once again) so it's presumably looking at Riddick and Ghostbusters as two IPs that have previously performed well as movie-to-game adaptations. Let's hope they continue to do so under Atari's watchful eye.
