Seems Robert Ludlum's estate was no fan of Vivendi's The Bourne Conspiracy. Keith Boesky, who represents the interests of Robert Ludlum, says of the new deal with Electronic Arts, "We're dealing with grown ups now."
Ludlum Entertainment and EA announced earlier today that they had signed a deal to develop games based on the late author Robert Ludlum's works. That was after Vivendi, now Activision Blizzard, handed back the rights to Ludlum Entertainment after the video game based on the second Jason Bourne movie.
So, why EA?
"EA came in the strongest, had the best take on the property, and they know how to grow the IP and have unquestioned worldwide market reach," Boesky tells Variety. Electronic Arts and CEO John Riccitiello "know how to grow the IP and have unquestioned worldwide market reach," which one might imply means that Activision does not. Which would just be mean.
Ludlum estate CEO Jeffrey Weiner agrees, saying "We feel we're in a much better position now."
According to a previous report from Variety, Vivendi had another Bourne adaptation in the works at Prototype developer Radical Entertainment, a game known as "Treadstone." That has since been canned.
With the reliable Starbreeze Studios at the helm of all things Ludlum, which includes properties beyond Bourne, we'd think EA's chances are pretty good of bringing up a new Bourne.
EA gets Bourne license for a decade [The Cut Scene]