Who owns the Wizardry RPGs? We do, say both Drecom and Atari as an unusual IP acquisition splits custody of the genre-forming series

Atari's caller woody promises re-releases, remakes, and multimedia spinoffs

Foundational RPG bid Wizardry has, implicit forty years since helping to codify the roleplaying videogame, recovered itself torn betwixt present-day custodians. Atari announced yesterday that they’d acquired the rights to the archetypal 5 Wizardry games, arsenic good arsenic "their underlying IP," and said they’d beryllium re-releasing those 5 connected modern platforms. This morning, however, Japanese publishers Drecom – who bought Wizardry’s copyright and trademark rights successful 2020 – tXeeted that contrary to definite reports connected Atari’s acquisition, it was they who’d proceed to ain and negociate the intelligence spot successful the future.

This initially appears to beryllium a elemental if antithetic split, with Atari owning the rights to the archetypal 5 Wizardry RPGs (including the precise first, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, a remake of which Atari co-published successful 2024), portion Drecom support clasp of the remaining 3 mainline games positive their much recent, sometimes anime-styled spinoffs. Except Drecom’s connection notes that Atari bought their chunk of games not from Drecom themselves, but from "the archetypal rights holder."

Some media outlets person reported that Atari SA (hereinafter "Atari") has acquired rights related to the IP "Wizardry" (ウィザードリィ), for which our institution holds trademark rights domestically and internationally, from DREaM Communications Inc. (hereinafter "our company"). However, nary specified information exists. Our institution has nary volition of selling the trademark rights oregon different rights to "Wizardry" that we clasp successful the future.

Our institution has antecedently received notification from Atari that Atari acquired the rights to the archetypal done 5th titles of the "Wizardry" bid from the archetypal rights holder.

Our institution volition proceed to clasp the home and planetary trademark rights to the "Wizardry" bid and volition proceed to negociate the "Wizardry" IP brand.

Mysterious! Wizardry has changed hands a fewer times implicit the years, but it appears that archetypal rights holder is co-creator Robert Woodhead, who’s quoted successful the Atari announcement. "When Andrew Greenberg and I created Wizardry backmost successful the 1980s, the video crippled manufacture was inactive successful its infancy, and the archetypal games were immoderate of the archetypal to bring the role-playing acquisition to PCs and consoles," sayeth Woodhead. "As Atari continues to reintroduce the games connected caller platforms and to caller audiences, I'll decidedly beryllium paying attraction to the reactions of gamers who determine to instrumentality connected a existent old-school challenge."

Atari’s acquisition seemingly besides involves plans for "the instauration of remasters, collections, and caller releases. In addition, Game publishing volition beryllium complemented by the merchandise of merchandise, paper and committee games, books and comics, and TV and movie projects arsenic portion of a semipermanent program to physique an amusement franchise based connected the Original Wizardry games."

That’s a batch of Wizardry, though portion this divided suggests that Drecom’s power implicit the franchise wasn’t arsenic full arsenic the 2020 acquisition suggested, it’s unclear however this Marvelfication of the expansive aged RPG bid volition beryllium with their assertion that they’ll inactive negociate the IP. I’ve asked some Atari and Drecom for immoderate further clarification.