Ubisoft gets Driver's license

By Tim Surette, GameSpotPosted Jul 13, 2006 3:23 pm PT

Atari agrees to sell most assets from Reflections to French publisher for $24 million; Ubi eager to get into racing game.

Cash-strapped Atari dumped one of its properties today, partially making good on its announcement that several of its holdings would be sold off. The rights to the Driver franchise were sold to fellow countrymen Ubisoft for 19 million euros ($24 million). The deal is expected to close during Ubisoft's second fiscal quarter, which ends September 30, 2006.

Also moving from Atari's banner to Ubisoft's are "most of the assets and all of the personnel" of Driver's developer, UK-based Reflections Interactive. Atari will retain the sell-off rights for a three-month period on all the Driver games except for Driver: Parallel Lines, the most recent chapter of the franchise, which it will hold until the end of 2006.

Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell said, "We are focusing the energy of the company on a select number of franchises in order to optimize their impact among consumers and increase shareholder value. In the driving category, we consider Test Drive our key franchise which will require more resources and attention to build it as a landmark of its genre."

Ubisoft was happy to get behind the wheel of Driver. "We are thrilled with this acquisition which will allow us to add a prestigious title to our catalog and to enter into the driving games segment, one of the most important segments in the gaming industry," said Ubi CEO Yves Guillemot.

It appears that Ubisoft is betting the Driver games still have some gas in the tank. Even with mediocre reviews, Driv3r sold well. Unfortunately for Atari, the same held true for the reviews of Driver: Parallel Lines, but not its sales.

Test Drive Unlimited, Atari's new ride, will be released later this year on multiple platforms. A movie based on the Driver franchise is currently being adapted into a film by Roger Avary.

90 Comments

  • dillonshuffel

    Posted Feb 24, 2008 3:15 pm PT

    Yea i think also they should remake Driver 1 and Driver 2 Cause i liked it I didn't like the Driver Parallel lines it doesn't have tanner .
    but i want to know if Tanner actually died In Driver 3 i know he got shot he went to the hospital.
    They like just ended it right there No more Tanner, Jerico, Jones...

    They Really need to make a new driver if so like Now were is Pink Lenny From Driver 2 and that one Black guy in driver 2 with the long hair

  • Syphon_Filter2

    Posted Aug 19, 2007 1:23 pm PT

    Th first driver and the second one, were better then the new drivers.

  • Turisman4

    Posted Apr 2, 2007 7:44 am PT

    I think a Driver 1 and 2 compilation with better graphics and draw distance while keeping the environment design and physics engine would be a game I'd be quickly willing to pay full price for.

  • bam29

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 10:06 pm PT

    Im happy to see ubisoft get the license to the driver series. They are a good company and i hope they make the driver series good again.

  • abdullrahman

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 10:20 am PT

    I like Driver games i never missd a game .

  • games_pot1

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 1:52 pm PT

    Good for them

  • AliasUK

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 7:40 am PT

    I've enjoyed all the Drivers to be honest, even PL. Driv3rs story mode was a bit wank but the free roam is superb. It's just a shame that it isn't as non linear a GTA. I still think Driv3r graphics are very good as well.

  • Tungsten88

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 8:01 pm PT

    Driv3r was pretty good actually (because I hadn't played GTA). I loved the free roam mode and though the glitches were pretty funny, but Driver 4 was the absolute worst game I've ever played.

  • ultimate_zero

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 7:32 pm PT

    cool

  • JL990096

    Posted Sep 1, 2006 7:30 am PT

    Despite the fact that 187 Ride or Die sucked (a car-combat game developed by Ubi soft), i think driver will not after Ubi-soft took over the driver series (just as soon as they don't get the wrong develop team)

  • War-Tex

    Posted Aug 23, 2006 3:48 pm PT

    2 be honest.....i always wait for driver games and it comes out 2 be.....BOOOGUUUSSS

  • trialanderror61

    Posted Aug 16, 2006 11:44 am PT

    the original Driver is, was, and ever will be the best. I am proud to say on august 16 2006, 6 years and 2 months after the release date, i still play driver.

    Driver 2 sucked.
    they advertised the had CURVED roads.
    and didnt make it for pc. pc has so much more graphical capability than playstation

    sigh..

  • willripyouanew1

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 4:35 pm PT

    Hopefully it wont stink as bad as the last Driv3r did

  • greatestali

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 7:23 pm PT

    finally a driver game that would actually be fun to play thanku ubisoft

  • ultimate_zero

    Posted Jul 17, 2006 8:10 pm PT

    Ubisoft makes great games, so I'm guessing that the next driver's gonna be a masterpiece.

  • mes258

    Posted Jul 17, 2006 6:38 am PT

    The stories of all the driver series were great, too bad atari hasn't got a proper quality team. They still develop Driver in the ATARI 2600 style (or at least in win95 with bizarre min. requirements).
    I sure hope Ubi will raise the standard, and come up with a great story and stunning looks & gameplay.

  • Jrock7

    Posted Jul 16, 2006 8:15 pm PT

    Atari is getting old. I will always like the company for the first game system, but they don't make good games anymore. Driver was one of the best for the original Playstation, but 3 sucked so much that it made me lose faith. Now that Atari doesn't have it anymore, I'm getting the next game nomatter what happens. Hopefully Ubi gets the series on top again.

  • Blazer88

    Posted Jul 16, 2006 1:17 pm PT

    New Test Drive looks good, Driver was only ok at first and progressively got worse although because 3 sold well it just goes to show once again that thier are some gamers out there with horrible taste. Ubi might be able to fix it, but it is such a crowded genre that like FPS's it pretty much takes something spectacular for someone like me to even give it any thought.

  • mariokart64fan

    Posted Jul 15, 2006 3:39 pm PT

    driver was the best and still is when driver 5 comes on ps3 im getting it

  • guynamedbilly

    Posted Jul 15, 2006 8:21 am PT

    Test Drive should do pretty good. It's not a whole lot of tune*and*tweak that is Need For Speed. It's just real cars racing. Should be good.

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