Activision extends Marvel licensing agreement

Activision has extended its agreement with Marvel Enterprises, allowing the game company to create more titles based on the licensed comic book characters, with its first new title from the contract set for 2007.

The agreement permits Activision to develop a "non-persistent role playing game" featuring Marvel characters across consoles and PC. This title will be deemed separate from the recently announced Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game deal that Marvel made with Microsoft Game Studios .

While the deal does not affect characters other publishers control within videogames - THQ owns the rights to The Punisher, while VU Games commands The Hulk franchise - it is expected Activision will now produce another title to add to its action based RPG series, X-Men Legends.

"Rather than focusing on just one character, this unique license enables Activision to develop role-playing games that tap a broader base of characters from Marvel's expansive universe," explains Ames Kirshen, Marvel's vice president of interactive.

Currently, Activision has created Marvel based titles on characters Blade, Spider-Man, The X-Men and most recently, The Fantastic 4. Imminently, Ultimate Spider-Man will be released on DS, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox this autumn, and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse will reach PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, and PSP around the same time.

Further Reading: Activision revises figures upwards after earnings report.