Atari has settled its D&D dispute with Hasbro, allowing it to develop/publish a certain amount of titles, while the license holder itself keeps all digital rights to the franchise. In less positive news Atari has revealed that it is delaying the newest installment in the Neverwinter franchise until late 2012, attributed to the recent sale of Cryptic Studios to Perfect World.

Once a bustling location, Neverwinter has faced a great many disasters in the past hundred years. Rule of the city remains unclear following the unfortunate demise of the last Lord of Neverwinter and factions still battle for dominance after the all-consuming Spellplague took a high toll on the population. Even Neverwinter’s dead are beginning to rise from their graves and march upon the city they once called home.

Neverwinter is part of a multi-platform event, including a book trilogy from New York Times best-selling author R. A. Salvatore and a tabletop roleplaying game from Wizards of the Coast. Book one in Salvatore’s Neverwinter trilogy, titled Gauntlgrym, releases on October 5 of this year and lays the groundwork for the Neverwinter storyline. The novel previews the settings, characters and monsters from the PC game and details the events that lead up to this highly anticipated PC gaming experience.

One hundred years have passed since the Spellplague forever changed the magical and mysterious lands of Faerûn. Mighty empires fell and great cities toppled, leaving only monster-haunted ruins and survivors struggling to rebuild.

The city of Neverwinter, the Jewel of the North, seemed blessed by the gods. While the rest of the Sword Coast was devastated by the event, Neverwinter survived largely intact. But this was only a temporary reprieve from its inevitable doom. Nearly 75 years later, a volcanic eruption rained fire, ash and molten fury upon the city, annihilating everything in its wake.

Today, Neverwinter has restored much of its former glory. The survivors are rebuilding their fallen city and reclaiming their heritage. Humans, dwarves and elves work together to create a new Neverwinter. But evil forces conspire in the dark places of the world, seeking to undermine all...

Features:

• Explore and defend one of the most beloved cities from Dungeons & Dragons as it rises from the ashes of destruction. This immersive co-op RPG will take you from the besieged walls of the city to subterranean passageways in search of forgotten secrets and lost treasure.
• Epic stories, stategic gameplay and classic roleplaying await those heroes courageous enough to enter the fanastic world of Neverwinter.
• Easy-to-grasp adventure creation tools empower players. Bring compelling quests to life and build challenging levels! Share creations with the entire world in-game. Become a part of the existing Dungeons & Dragons universe... Then build a new one.
• Encounter dangerous foes and perilous environments. Work strategically with others to overcome nightmares, demons, monsters and beasts of legend. Or, lead AI-directed henchmen as you save Neverwinter from the brink of destruction.
• Neverwinter is a true Dungeons & Dragons experience, brought to life with the dynamic Cryptic game engine.

You’ve played tabletop campaigns, sketched out dungeons and imagined ancient ruins, wishing all the while that you could make them come to life. Now, you can. The Foundry for Neverwinter lets you build and share the adventures you've always wanted to see.

The Foundry gives you the tools to build dungeons, castles, cities, foreboding woods and everything in-between. Build NPCs the way you see them in your mind’s eye and populate your world with tavern keepers and soldiers, Queens and scullions. Lay the groundwork for an epic adventure that takes players into the depths of the earth in search of dwarven treasure, or pits them against near impossible odds to save the city of Neverwinter.

Easy to use, The Foundry also features a dynamic rating system that allows players to rate and highlight the best player-designed adventures.