RUMOR #3: Interplay has regained the rights to Baldur's Gate 3 after settling out of court with D&D license-owners Atari.

Source: The increasingly vitriolic Interplay Forums.

The official story: The Atari rep nicely passed our inquires along to another rep who was conveniently out of the office. The only sound out of Interplay's offices was of crickets chirping.

What we heard: Last Spring, Interplay pulled the plug on Baldur's Gate 3 after Dungeons-and-Dragons rights-holder Atari rescinded Interplay's license. Even though Interplay sued Atari to get it back, most role-playing gamers assumed BG3 was dead. However, Atari's D&D PC RPG Temple of Elemental Evil, earned only a fraction of Baldur's Gate's acclaim and cash. (Its self-developed console title, Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes, flopped outright.) So Atari might be tempted to make nice with the publisher of the most successful D&D series in order to wring more cash out of the D&D license. However, seeing how it fired all the BG3 talent at Black Isle Studios, Interplay would have a tough time turning the half-finished BG3 code into a decent game. Whether or not the rumor is true will be revealed in Interplay's next earnings report, due the last week in February.

Bogus or not bogus?: Hopefully bogus. Let the dear, departed series rest in peace.

Sources have told me that this case has been settled. I believe Interplay regained the rights to the TSR license. Stay tuned for the latest quarterly report to be released (the last week of February). This 10-Q should state the results of the settlement. Perhaps Interplay will regain the rights to BG3.