Atari acquires rights to first five Wizardry RPGs as it plans franchise revival

• Atari has secured full rights to the original Wizardry RPGs after decades of dormancy.
• Classic RPG titles unavailable for 25 years set for modern re-release.
• Atari expands retro strategy with one of gaming’s most influential franchises.

Atari has acquired the complete and exclusive rights to the first five titles in the Wizardry RPG series.

The deal covers Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (1981) through Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (1988), alongside the underlying intellectual property, including characters, spells, locations, and monsters.

Often referred to as the “Original Wizardry” or “Llylgamyn Saga,” the series played a foundational role in shaping the Japanese RPG genre.

The acquisition does not include Wizardry VI, VII, and VIII, which remain under the ownership of Drecom.

Reviving dormant IP

The original Wizardry titles have been largely unavailable for more than 25 years. Atari now plans to reintroduce them through digital and physical releases, alongside remasters, collections, and potential new entries.

The company also outlined broader ambitions to expand Wizardry into a multi-format entertainment franchise, spanning merchandise, tabletop games, books, comics, and film and television projects.

“Wizardry is such an influential RPG franchise, yet many of the games have been unavailable for more than two decades,” said Atari chairman and CEO Wade Rosen.

“We are excited to have this rare opportunity to republish, remaster and bring console ports and physical releases of these early games to market.”

Wizardry franchise co-creator Robert Woodhead commented: “When Andrew Greenberg and I created Wizardry back in the 1980s, the video game industry was still in its infancy, and the original games were some of the first to bring the role-playing experience to PCs and consoles.

“As Atari continues to reintroduce the games on new platforms and to new audiences, I'll definitely be paying attention to the reactions of gamers who decide to take on a real old-school challenge.”