Another Post on the WWE Video Game License - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Another Post on the WWE Video Game License Stuck

Posted on December 12, 2009 at 05:17 PM.

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To follow up my report yesterday talking about why an EA/WWE deal would make sense, I've done a bit more digging into this topic using my best possible google skills. It appears, although not widely reported, that THQ announced it's intentions to finally renew the WWE license back in October.

I also got word from my own contact within THQ which said the linked news above describes what he has heard internally. Given the dubious nature of anonymous sources on the internet for readers, you can take a confirmation from such however you want.

Also, by doing even further research on this topic, the legal entanglements which Jakks, THQ, and the WWE find themselves in are just awkwardly complex. First off, THQ managed to gain $23 million from an arbitrator for a readjustment in royalties of video game sales in one of several aspects of the legal battle in July 2009.

It seems that WWE's beef with THQ/Jakks Pacific LLC is with the latter half of the partnership. However, given the nature of the agreement between THQ and Jakks, there are some serious complicating factors involved here.

In the current lawsuit, THQ is basically looking to get out of it's current contract with Jakks without having to face the legal ramifications of doing so. The current contract states THQ cannot publish a wrestling-based game for a year after the termination of their agreement with Jakks Pacific.

So where does this leave the WWE video game license?

Simply put, outside of a few suits in the upper echelons of the three companies listed above, it's really up in the air. However, THQ has indeed stated they want to renew the video game license with WWE and they have already technically done so. The current suit, which has yet to be resolved, contends THQ did not consent to that renewal and is basically an attempt for WWE and THQ to dump Jakks from their deal.

If the suit is successful, THQ and WWE most likely will renew their license with one another without Jakks' involvement. If the suit is not successful, it appears THQ will have to take at least one year off from making WWE games if they want to skip out of their agreement with Jakks. Either way, now that some clearer information has been gathered, I don't think the odds of THQ losing the WWE license are as high as they might have appeared initially. However, the status of a WWE game in 2010 is unquestionably up in the air.

As always, there will be a lot decided with the WWE license in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to OS as we stay on top of this story.