Atari Announces Neverwinter Nights 2; Obsidian Entertainment to Develop Sequel to BioWare’s Revolutionary Product
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 4, 2004–Atari Interactive, Inc., Obsidian Entertainment and BioWare Corp.â„¢, under license from Hasbro, Inc., have announced plans for Neverwinter Nightsâ„¢ 2, the sequel to BioWare Corp.’s best-selling and genre-defining role-playing game set in the popular Dungeons & Dragons® Forgotten Realmsâ„¢ universe created by Wizards of the Coast. Atari, Inc. will publish the title. Originally developed by BioWare, Neverwinter Nights has set a new standard in the role-playing genre with a deep and engrossing storyline; immersive character development; stunning graphics; and, an expansive multiplayer experience like none other.
“Neverwinter Nights is one of the most beloved RPG’s of all time and we’re pleased that Obsidian has taken on the challenge,” said John Hight, executive producer, Atari. “Feargus and his team at Obsidian Entertainment are the best people on the planet to take up where BioWare left off and bring this great game to new levels. They are intimately familiar with what makes Neverwinter Nights special, they know what it takes to make a great game and they have the respect of the RPG community.”
The Neverwinter Nights franchise has sold more than two million copies worldwide, is translated into ten languages, sold in more than 40 countries and features one of the largest and most active fan communities in all of gaming at www.bioware.com. To date, fans of the franchise, which includes Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentideâ„¢ and Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdarkâ„¢, have created nearly 4,000 modifications to the original game using the award-winning BioWare Aurora Toolset, the groundbreaking software included with the full game that allows players to create their own universes, quests and storylines.
“BioWare and Atari created an immense community of players attracted by both the immersion of an interactive gaming experience and the ability to create their own pen-and-paper styled modules. Neverwinter Nights changed the very nature of roleplaying games,” said Feargus Urquhart, Obsidian Entertainment’s CEO. “With Neverwinter Nights 2, we’re going to take that incredible experience to the next level by combining a huge new single-player game with deep character development and many new upgrades and enhancements to the already powerful BioWare Aurora Toolset for the modding community.”
Neverwinter Nights 2 will be developed by Obsidian Entertainment, founded by Feargus Urquhart who, as the President of Black Isle Studios, was responsible for the publishing of the Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance series and the development of the Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment franchises, both powered by BioWare Engine Technology, as well as overseeing the creation and development of the Fallout series. BioWare will provide tools, technology, and game assets from the original Neverwinter Nights as well as lend creative input and oversight to the development process.
“From our development of Baldur’s Gateâ„¢ and Neverwinter Nights to our engine licensure on Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic® 2, we’ve been working collaboratively with Feargus and other members of the Obsidian Entertainment team for years,” said Dr. Greg Zeschuk, BioWare Corp.’s Joint CEO. “Neverwinter Nights remains one of the most important titles BioWare has ever created. We certainly plan to remain involved in the production and development of Neverwinter Nights 2 and we’re delighted to initiate another partnership with Obsidian Entertainment and Atari,” added Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare Corp.’s Joint CEO.
Neverwinter Nights 2 is scheduled for release in 2006. More information about Neverwinter Nights 2 can be found on the Atari website at www.atari.com/nwn2, which includes user forums, project news, development updates and more.
About Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment is a premier software development company passionately dedicated to creating high quality, next generation role-playing games for PC and console systems. Obsidian is currently developing Star Wars® Knights of the Old Republic® II: The Sith Lords™ (to be published by LucasArts) for the PC and Xbox. More information about Obsidian Entertainment can be found online at www.obsidianent.com.
About BioWare
BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company that develops computer and console games. BioWare’s developers are currently hard at work on Jade Empireâ„¢, a BioWare-created intellectual property to be published by Microsoft for the Xbox; and Dragon Ageâ„¢, a PC RPG set in a brand new world created and owned by BioWare. BioWare is also developing an unannounced title based on yet another BioWare-created intellectual property plus several other projects internally and also other projects through partnerships with other developers. Star Wars:® Knights of the Old Republic,â„¢ released July 18, 2003 for the Xbox and November 18, 2003 for PC, is currently enjoying critical praise and great commercial success with its opening weekend launch ending with Microsoft proclaiming the title as the fastest-selling Xbox game in history. Neverwinter Nightsâ„¢: Hordes of the Underdarkâ„¢, the second official expansion for the critically acclaimed PC role-playing game Neverwinter Nights, was released on December 2, 2003, and has enjoyed critical and commercial success. Previously published projects include: the award-winning Neverwinter Nights,â„¢ the genre-defining Baldur’s Gateâ„¢ role playing game series for the PC, MDKâ„¢2 for Dreamcast and PC, MDKâ„¢2: Armageddon for PlayStation®2 and Shattered Steelâ„¢. Additional BioWare information can be found online at www.bioware.com.
About Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games and their method of play (TCGs) and produces one of the world’s best-selling TCGs, Magic: The Gathering®, as well as the celebrated Dungeons & Dragons® roleplaying game. Publisher of adventure games, family card and board games, and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world’s premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction whose novels have made numerous appearances on The New York Times best-seller list and have sold millions of copies worldwide. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com.
About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company’s 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as Driverâ„¢, Enter the Matrixâ„¢, Neverwinter Nightsâ„¢, Stuntmanâ„¢, Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2004, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children’s games such as Backyard Sportsâ„¢, Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Cluesâ„¢ and Dora the Explorerâ„¢, Civilization®, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. In the U.S., the Company also publishes and distributes all titles developed by Atari Interactive, Inc. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
Forgotten Realms, Dungeons & Dragons, Neverwinter Nights and Magic the Gathering are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.
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