Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena picked up by Atari, has new campaign

Another former Sierra game dropped by Activision Blizzard has found a home. In tomorrow's Daily Variety, I'm reporting that "Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena" will be published by Atari in the spring (click here for all the details). I'm also confirmed through sources -- though the publisher won't yet confirm -- that "Ghostbusters" will indeed be published by Atari, as Dan Aykroyd previously let slip. Expect it to be released early next summer, timed to the film's 25th anniversary.

Fans might also be interested in more details on "Athena" (for starters, that's a new screenshot on the right). We already knew that developer Starbreeze was remaking the critically acclaimed (though only so-so selling) "Escape from Butcher Bay" for current gen systems along with multi-player. But Atari also confirmed that the game will have an entire new campaign. I spoke with Bill Kispert, head of interactive for Universal, which owns the "Riddick" rights, and he promised even those of us who have played "Butcher Bay" will get our money's worth from "Athena's" new campaign and multi-player.

"Originally it was just a remake, but we started thinking more and felt that wasn't super compelling," he explained. "the new campaign is robust, it's not an extra mission or two. It has a storyline, new characters, new locations, new weapons."

He added that he's really excited about the multi-player too and promises it will give fans "something a little different" than what they're used to in multi-player.

It's my understanding that Infogrames (which essentially is Atari now) president Phil Harrison was particularly excited about "Riddick," knew how great the original game was, and saw the potential in doing a follow-up. And Atari is hoping for more. Along with buying the "Dark Athena" game from Activision Blizzard, it also has licensing rights from Universal for "Riddick" that will let it publish more sequels going forward if this one does well.

It's my understanding Atari has a similar long term deal with Sony Pictures for "Ghostbusters," though I couldn't confirm that.

In both cases, sources told me that Atari paid a flat fee to Activision Blizzard to compensate it for some, but not all, of the development money Sierra spent on the games.

This is a pretty big deal for the reconstituted Atari and it's new management team. They've talked a lot about online gaming, utilizing their library, and distributing games for partners, but these are the first AAA titles they've picked up. Though they hardly have a full sized slate, it shows they're still a player.

So what other former Sierra titles are left? "50 Cent: Blood on the Sand" went to THQ. Early work on "Scarface 2" was scrapped and now rights to the franchise have reverted back to Universal, which is looking for a new licensor. Ditto the Bourne games and the Robert Ludlum estate.

What about "Brutal Legend?" I'll have more on that in a minute.

Full story: Atari gets "Riddick," "Ghostbusters"