Driving licence? Driver? The joke just had to be made. Anyway, it appears Atari have the rights to the popular series no more...

In surprising news, Ubisoft have today revealed they have confirmed an agreement with Atari to acquire the intellectual property and technology rights to Driver, the popular racing franchise, as well as most of the assets and all of the personnel of Reflections Interactive Limited. The acquisition will be completed for a cash price of �19 million.

"We are thrilled with this acquisition which will allow us to add a prestigious title to our catalogue and to enter into the driving games segment, one of the most important segments in the gaming industry. With more than 14 million units sold throughout the world, Driver is one of the most successful brands in the history of video games. We look forward to leveraging the unique knowledge of the Ubisoft studios to ensure that Driver will be one of the leading brands of the next generation of consoles." said Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft.

This could also mean better hopes of Nintendo fans seeing the franchise on Nintendo platforms - of which it seems to have lately 'steered clear'. Heh, we'll stop with the puns now...