Microsoft se hace con el 50% de oddworld

Publisher ditches investment in Munch's Oddysee developer

A regulatory filing by publisher Atari has revealed that the company has ended its relationship with Munch's Oddysee developer Oddworld Inhabitants, handing its 50 per cent share in the company to Microsoft in return for a chunk of publishing royalties.

In fact, this transaction - which brings to an end a partnership between Atari and Oddworld Inhabitants which began when Infogrames, as then was, took a 50 per cent stake in the developer for $7.1 million back in 1996 - took place at the end of last year, but has only just been revealed through the filing of a document with the American Securities and Exchange Commission.

The terms of the deal as outlined in the document seem to indicate that Microsoft now owns half of Oddworld Inhabitants, having exchanged this stake with Atari for Oddworld's share of $1.8 million in publishing royalties.

Microsoft's part-ownership of the studio is interesting, assuming this is actually the case, because the Redmond-based publisher dropped Oddworld Inhabitants' next project, currently codenamed Stranger, from its Xbox release schedules last year - and the developer is thought to be seeking a new publisher for the game at present