Atari have sold the rights and intellectual property of their Driver franchise to Ubisoft.

"This allows us 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," said Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft.

Earlier this month, Atari Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Bruno Bonnell admitted that a couple of Atari's titles were under performing, but he was optimistic about the future. Atari have already sold Stuntman to THQ and Timeshift to Vivendi, but they do have a few hit titles on the horizon, including NeverWinter Nights 2 and Test Drive Unlimited.

Press release

Today, Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announces that it has concluded an agreement with Atari, Inc. and Reflections Interactive Limited to acquire the intellectual property and technology rights to Driver, the world acclaimed franchise, as well as most of the assets and all of the personnel of Reflections Interactive Limited. The acquisition will be completed for a cash price of 19 M€ .

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Ubisoft’s second quarter of fiscal 2007. "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.” said Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft.