Après le départ de BioWare chez Infogrames, on pouvait se demander ce qu'il allait advenir de la licence (ô combien juteuse) Baldur's Gate. Et bien on apprend aujourd'hui qu'Interplay a obtenu l'autorisation d'utiliser cette franchise, grâce à la signature d'un accord entre les deux entreprises. Une bonne nouvelle pour Interplay après une série de coups durs (la perte de Neverwinter Nights, le départ de Brian Fargo...). Espérons juste qu'ils ne galvaudent pas ce nom prestigieux, synonyme de qualité dans le coeur de nombreux rôlistes micro. Vous pouvez lire le communiqué de presse officiel juste après le lien.
IRVINE, Calif. – March 20, 2002 – Interplay Entertainment Corp. will maintain the license to develop and publish roleplaying games using the Dungeons & Dragons franchises of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale, licensed from Infogrames Interactive Inc., which retains the rights to Neverwinter Nights. Dungeons & Dragons is owned by Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., and licensed to Infogrames Interactive.
The multi-year, multi-product license allows Black Isle Studios, the roleplaying division of Interplay, to deliver high quality PC and console games to D&D fans worldwide. Dungeons & Dragons games currently in development include Icewind Dale(TM) II for the PC, Baldur's Gate(TM): Dark Alliance(TM) for the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft and sequels to the multi-million unit selling Baldur's Gate(TM) franchise.
"We are very excited about our strong Dungeons & Dragons product lineup", said Herve Caen, president and CEO of Interplay Entertainment. "As the computer roleplaying game franchise that revitalized the computer RPG genre, Baldur's Gate is firmly established as one of the leading brands in the interactive entertainment industry worldwide. We are thrilled to be developing new additions to this critically and commercially successful franchise."