LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) — DreamWorks Animation SKG signed a multiyear agreement with longtime videogame partner Activision, which will create games based on at least four additional DWA movies.
Through the new arrangement, Activision gets exclusive rights to the titles “Bee Movie,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “Rex Havoc” and “How to Train Your Dragon.” The deal also gives Activision rights for building videogames based on the “Shrek” franchise, should the green ogre star in movies beyond “Shrek 3.”
Activision already is developing a game for “Shrek 3” under a previous licensing agreement, as is the case for “Over the Hedge” and “Madagascar 2.”
Activision was DWA’s videogame partner for “Shrek 2,” “Shark Tale” and “Madagascar,” games that have shipped more than 10 million copies collectively, with the “Shrek 2” game being the best-selling children’s title last year. Last month the company released its most recent title, “Shrek Superslam.”
DWA, which has licensed properties to other game makers, such as THQ for “Spirit” and Konami for “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” said the deal inked with Activision is its most comprehensive to date.
Financial terms of the new deal weren’t disclosed, except to say that it covers games built for all existing and future platforms, including PC and hand-held devices.
“Our association with DreamWorks has resulted in some of the most critically acclaimed and successful movie-based videogames ever,” Activision CEO Robert Kotick said.
“Working with Activision, we hope to deliver an unprecedented level of collaboration between the movie and the video game,” DWA chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said.
