robert-ludlum posts

It looks like yet another castoff from the Activision Blizzard merger has found a new home. Electronic Arts announced today that they have secured the game rights to the catalog of novels written by the late spy novelist Robert Ludlum. It's not a shock to hear that the first game from this new agreement will be based on the Jason Bourne novels.

Developer Starbreeze Studios (Chronicles of Riddick) is already working on the first Bourne game but no platforms or a release date were mentioned. Vivendi Games released The Bourne Conspiracy in June 2008 for consoles. It was the final game from the publisher before it merged with Activision to form Activision Blizzard. The newly company already owned the James Bond license via Activision and most likely felt that having another spy game franchise was repetitive.

Ludlum Entertainment has reacquired the rights to publish, develop and distribute games based on the late author Robert Ludlum's works, reports PR Newswire. Robert Ludlum's many renowned novels, among them The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, have sold more than 290 million units worldwide and were the creative inspiration for the films of the same name.

Prior to Ludlum Entertainment's reacquisition, the rights to create games based on Ludlum's work were held by Vivendi Games, which recently merged with Activision to forge Activision Blizzard. The last Ludlum-based title from Vivendi was June 2008's The Bourne Conspiracy, which was available on the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles.

Ludlum Entertainment Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Weiner feels that the reacquisition could not come at a better time for Ludlum Entertainment. The continued popularity of Ludlum's creations, specifically anything related to his Bourne stories, present opportunities for the company to spread the story across "personal computers and game consoles," as well as "a wide variety of mobile devices, online multiplayer games and social media applications," said Weiner.