Ghostbusters trapped by Atari

The fallout from the Activision-Blizzard merger is taking time to settle. Initially, several key Sierra Entertainment games were left out in the cold when the new megapublisher decided not to take them on. One by one, though, they are finding new homes. THQ recently picked up the rights to 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, and Atari expanded its portfolio with The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.

Today, one of the highest-profile orphans of the merger, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, has found a new home. Atari has announced that it will be partnering with Sony Pictures Consumer Products and the game's developer, Terminal Reality, to bring out the game in 2009 to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original film's release. Lee Kirton, head of UK PR for Atari, told GameSpot today, "It's incredibly exciting to be publishing Ghostbusters as a title. It has a huge fan base and looks absolutely fantastic."

The announcement had been widely expected after Dan Aykroyd told a US radio station that Atari was set to take on publishing duties. Aykroyd had also announced the existence of the game via the Edmonton Sun before its official confirmation by Sierra Entertainment, so the Atari acquisition rumour was given more credence.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game was officially announced in November 2007 for release in autumn 2008. It is an original story, set two years after Ghostbusters II. It was written by the writers of Ghostbusters, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, and will also feature the voices and likenesses of the stars of both films. Ghostbusters: The Video Game will be released in 2009 for the Nintendo DS, Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.