After years of Bond games developed by Electronic Arts, MGM have now granted Activision the exclusive rights the series!

In a suprising statement, Activision have announced that MGM and EON haved granted them the rights to develop and publish games based on the James Bond video-game license until 2014. A slew of previous Bond titles have been placed in the hands of EA - to mixed critical and commercial success - though the loss of the Bond licence will still be a blow.

The film series has grossed more than $3.6 billion theatrically worldwide since the original, Dr. No, and approximately 30 million units of video games based on the world of James Bond have been sold to date - most notably the legendary Rare-developed title Goldeneye.

"James Bond is the ultimate action movie franchise, and we look forward to establishing a long-term relationship with MGM and EON," said Mike Griffith, president and CEO of Activision Publishing Inc. "The James Bond franchise creates tremendous global expansion opportunities for Activision as it is one of the few video game licenses that appeals equally to domestic and international consumers. James Bond storylines are rich with style, drama and action, all of which lend themselves perfectly to developing extraordinary games that capture the thrill of being the most celebrated secret agent in the world."

Under the terms of the agreement, Activision will obtain the worldwide rights to create video games for all current and next-generation consoles, PC and hand-held platforms. The license will grant Activision the right to develop and publish games based on all of the James Bond movies, as well as non-movie based games.

We'll see in the next week if the company announces any new titles in the franchise for E3.