Infogrames to publish Neverwinter Nights
Interplay and Bioware reach agreement
Interplay's disintegration continues today with the announcement that they have reached an agreement with Bioware over the lawsuits which the Canadian developer had filed against them as part of a long-running dispute over distribution of their Baldur's Gate games. Not only did the old guard at Interplay allegedly sign away US distribution rights to Vivendi without Bioware's consent, but new owners Titus and their Virgin subsidiary were accused of owing Bioware money from European sales of the game. Now the whole mess has been sorted out, with Interplay president Herve Caen trying to put a brave face on things by declaring himself to be "very pleased with the outcome of this situation". As a result of the deal Neverwinter Nights will now be published by Infogrames, as we first predicted last November when Bioware terminated their contract with Interplay. The press release also mentions that "other matters have been resolved to both parties' mutual satisfaction", which presumably means that Interplay / Titus have handed over a large suitcase full of used $10 bills to Bioware at a quiet crossing point on the Canadian border. Neither of these moves is exactly positive for the ailing publisher, whose CEO and founder Brian Fargo quit yesterday. Despite this, Herve Caen is said to be "looking forward to a successful and mutually beneficial relationship with Infogrames and Bioware on this and other titles". For their part Bioware seem understandably relieved to get the whole mess behind them. "We're delighted that we have reached an amicable settlement agreement in our dispute with Interplay", Bioware CEO Ray Muzyka told the press. "We look forward to completing the development work on Neverwinter Nights and having Infogrames publish this product." As yet there's no word from Infogrames on all this, but the last we heard Bioware were still determined to get the game out this spring. After all the drama and setbacks the title has already faced, we'll believe it when we see it... Related Feature - Bioware ditches Interplay