Late last week, it was reported that Ubisoft had purchased the rights to the Tom Clancy brand for use in video games and related products such as books. In a follow-up article on Gamasutra, industry analyst Michael Pachter estimates that the Tom Clancy brand could have cost Ubisoft as much as €60 million ($94 million). Ubisoft, for their part, have not publicly stated the purchase price. The deal is especially lucrative for Ubisoft, as the company will no longer have to pay royalties for use of the Tom Clancy name (currently affixed to the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series, among other staples and upcoming franchises).
One last note from the bottom of the article: in addition to the Tom Clancy MMO, Ubisoft is also working on a crossover series which Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot described as "similar in scope to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros." Whether or not this will stay strictly within the realm of Tom Clancy remains unclear. We hope not, because frankly we'd like to see Rayman and Sam Fisher fight to the death. Remember, Rayman has no neck to snap.
