Struggling publisher Infogrames nets $22.3 million by selling its powerhouse strategy franchise to an as-yet-unidentified company.
In Paris this morning, Infogrames, owner of Atari and publisher of the top-selling RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and just-released Sid Meier"s Pirates!, released the earnings report for the first half of its 2005 financial year, which ended September 30.
However, tucked into the report was a bombshell: the company has sold off the rights to Civilization, one of the most successful and critically acclaimed strategy series of all time. Although Activision briefly held the license in 1999, releasing the widely derided Civilization: Call to Power, Infogrames subsidiary Atari had been publishing the series--and its numerous expansion packs--since 1996"s Civilization II, and it had announced that Civilzation IV was in development last year.