Ubisoft officially publishing Wheelman
And it's officially official, folks: Ubisoft is publishing the previously Midway-held title, Wheelman. Ubisoft's Jaime Borasi confirmed to us this morning, "Yes, the deal with Midway has been finalized and we'll be shipping to retail on March 24th." In case you had forgotten, Wheelman is the third-person shooter/action-driving game coming to Xbox 360/PS3/PC starring everyone's favorite street racer, Vin Diesel.
The deal comes in the wake of Midway's recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (that's the protection kind, not the liquidation kind) and a slew of rumors surrounding the sale of Midway by majority stockholder Sumner Redstone to mystery man Mark Thomas. Will Midway continue selling off its intellectual properties to stay afloat? Will that next Mortal Kombat game already in production soldier on? It remains to be seen. We've put in word to Midway for comment.
UPDATE: Ubisoft and Midway are calling the publishing deal a "strategic relationship", saying, "Ubisoft will handle sales, marketing, and distribution of the title in North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Midway will continue to direct the development of the title and retains all future rights to the franchise and will sell the title in all other European territories." Looks like Midway's not out of the loop on Wheelman after all.
