Atari sued over D&D licensing agreement

Hasbro has instigated legal proceedings against Infogrames Entertainment, claiming the company has committed fraud and breached the terms of its licensing agreement for the Dungeons & Dragons brand.

"Dungeons & Dragons is owned by Hasbro's wholly-owned subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, who discovered earlier this year that Atari may have entered into an unauthorised sublicensing relationship with Namco Bandai Partners (NBP) for the Dungeons & Dragons digital game rights,” said Hasbro in a statement.

"While unfortunate that we had to take this action, it is crucial for us to protect the Dungeons & Dragons brand," added Greg Leeds, president of Wizards of the Coast. "We have been working for several months now to reach resolution with Atari, and they have left us with no other choice than to pursue legal action."

Hasbro is seeking compensatory damages for economic losses suffered and a termination of the licensing agreement.

In a response issued to IGN however, Atari countered that the allegations were "meritless".

"Atari has had a long and rich history with the Dungeons and Dragons franchise, investing millions of dollars into numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful games that have generated significant revenue for Hasbro," a spokesperson said. "Hasbro has resorted to these meritless allegations, in an apparent attempt to unfairly take back rights granted to Atari."

"Atari has sought to resolve the matter without cooperation from Hasbro. We regret that our long-time partner has decided to pursue this action. Atari will respond appropriately through its legal counsel in court."