Gameloft Buys Driver Franchise for Mobile Games

Gameloft, one of the leading publishers and developer of video games for mobile phones, announced recently that effective April 1, 2007, Gameloft will have exclusive rights to create mobile games based on Ubisoft's best-selling Driver franchise.

"We are extremely excited to add this license to our award-winning portfolio of games," said Michel Guillemot, President of Gameloft. "We have ambitious goals for this franchise and we intend to install a completely renewed gameplay that has never been seen before in mobile games, and we are confident we can take Driver to the next level".

Gameloft has exclusive mobile rights to develop, publish and distribute games based on the Driver franchise, which to date has sold more than 14 million units worldwide. The multi-year licensing agreement comes just after Gameloft's recent announcement to expand on its 2D and 3D offerings for 2007.

"Ubisoft has great plans for the Driver brand," said Tony Key, vice president of marketing at Ubisoft. "Our goal is to innovate within the franchise and give Driver renewed momentum. We believe it will be a leading Ubisoft franchise, providing gamers with innovative new experiences while maintaining the true spirit of the original license."

Previous Driver games, formerly owned by Glu Mobile, will be off market by March 31st, 2007. Gameloft expects to launch its new game Driver: LA Undercover in both 2D and 3D in June 2007, at the same time as Ubisoft's Driver Parallel Lines for PC, Nintendo Wii and Sony PSP will be released.