Atari acquires rights to the first five Wizardry games, planning remasters and new releases; Drecom responds
Atari announced that they have acquired rights to the first five Wizardry games. The company also teased plans to release collections and remasters of the series physically and digitally, as well as brand-new series releases.
The five games covered in this announcement are as follows:
- Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
- Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds
- Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn
- Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna
- Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom
As a reminder, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord has had a full 3D remake by Digital Eclipse that, following an Early Access release in 2023, was formally released for PC and consoles in May 2024. This remake is still available on all targeted platforms, but we noticed how its Steam page got updated two months ago in March to add Atari's name as its publisher.
In their press release, Atari also acknowledged that Wizardry VI, VII, and VIII are still owned by Drecom. However, the latter Japanese company has also claimed that they are still holding trademarks to the Wizardry series both in Japan and overseas.
You can find a copy of the press releases, which also includes comments by one of the Wizardry co-creators, Robert Woodhead, after the jump right below.
Atari's press release
Atari® (Euronext Growth Paris: ALATA) — one of the world's most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers — announced today the acquisition of the complete and exclusive rights to the first five Wizardry games and their underlying IP. The five games included are Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (1981), Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds (1982), Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn (1983), Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna (1987), and Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (1988).
This highly influential IP, often referred to as the ‘Original Wizardry’ and ‘The Llylgamyn Saga’, set the cornerstone for the Japanese RPG genre. The acquisition also includes many other Wizardry-related video games, contract rights, and other related intellectual property.
The original Wizardry NES, SNES and PC games as well as the underlying IP, including spells, characters, places, and monsters from the original Wizardry universe, have been unavailable to developers and fans for more than 25 years.
Atari is excited to bring these genre-defining games back to market through expanded digital and physical distribution and the creation of remasters, collections, and new releases. In addition, Game publishing will be complemented by the release of merchandise, card and board games, books and comics, and TV and film projects as part of a long-term plan to build an entertainment franchise based on the Original Wizardry games.
“When Andrew Greenberg and I created Wizardry back in the 1980s, the video game industry was still in its infancy, and the original games were some of the first to bring the role-playing experience to PCs and consoles,” said Robert Woodhead, co-creator of the Wizardry franchise. “As Atari continues to reintroduce the games on new platforms and to new audiences, I'll definitely be paying attention to the reactions of gamers who decide to take on a real old-school challenge.”
“Wizardry is such an influential RPG franchise, yet many of the games have been unavailable for more than two decades,” said Wade Rosen, CEO and Chairman of Atari. “We are excited to have this rare opportunity to republish, remaster and bring console ports and physical releases of these early games to market.”
The Wizardry titles 6, 7 and 8 are owned by the Japanese publishing company Drecom and are based on a different fictional universe.
In 2024 Atari’s studio Digital Eclipse published a remake of the very first title in the franchise, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, that ingeniously layered modern graphics over the largely text-based Apple II original. The revived game preserves the appeal of the classic, while adding many upgrades for fans playing on modern PC and consoles. The remake, praised by original fans, introduced a new generation of players to the franchise and won a Grammy Award for its original score.
Drecom's press release
Certain media have announced that Atari SA (hereinafter "Atari") has acquired rights to the "Wizardry" IP from Drecom Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "the Company"), which holds trademark rights both in Japan and overseas; however, this is not true. The Company has no intention of selling the trademark rights or other rights it holds to "Wizardry".
The Company was recently informed that Atari has acquired the rights to the first through fifth installments of the "Wizardry" series from the original rights holder.
The Company will continue to hold the Japan and overseas trademark rights to the "Wizardry" series and manage the "Wizardry" IP brand.