Ubisoft Acquires Driver Franchise
Games Publisher Ubisoft today announced in a press release that they have acquired the popular Driver franchise and the assets of Reflections Interactive Studios (the studio behind Driver) from Atari in a €19 Million deal. The deal is expected to close in Ubisoft’s second quarter of fiscal 2007. Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft said:
“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 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.”
This could effect the Driver series for next generation consoles. Don’t get me wrong, Atari and Reflections Interactive Studios have done very well with the Driver series and every single one of the Driver games have been fun to play, but they haven’t been anywhere near rivals Rockstar Games and their Grand Theft Auto franchise.
It will be interesting to see what changes Ubisoft will make apart from ploughing money into the franchise. However, due to the changing nature of the gaming industry, the financial power of Ubisoft and with the next generation of consoles upon us, the fight between GTA and Driver could get even hotter.
Games Publisher Ubisoft today announced in a press release that they have acquired the popular Driver franchise and the assets of Reflections Interactive Studios (the studio behind Driver) from Atari in a €19 Million deal. The deal is expected to close in Ubisoft’s second quarter of fiscal 2007. Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft said:
“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 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.”
This could effect the Driver series for next generation consoles. Don’t get me wrong, Atari and Reflections Interactive Studios have done very well with the Driver series and every single one of the Driver games have been fun to play, but they haven’t been anywhere near rivals Rockstar Games and their Grand Theft Auto franchise.
It will be interesting to see what changes Ubisoft will make apart from ploughing money into the franchise. However, due to the changing nature of the gaming industry, the financial power of Ubisoft and with the next generation of consoles upon us, the fight between GTA and Driver could get even hotter.
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