Turbine Entertainment announces that they are acquiring the Asheron's Call MMORPG franchise they developed for Microsoft Game Studios from the Redmond giant. Here's the deal:

WESTWOOD, Mass. – Dec. 17, 2003 – Turbine Entertainment Software Corp., a leading developer and publisher of online subscription entertainment, announced today that it signed a final agreement to purchase the complete Asheron’s Call massively multiplayer online game franchise from Microsoft® Game Studios. The franchise transfer includes all Asheron’s Call intellectual properties, including Asheron’s Call®, Asheron’s Call®: Dark Majesty and Asheron’s Call 2®: Fallen Kings™.
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The complete change of ownership is expected to take nearly a year. During this transition period, Microsoft will be less and less involved, eventually transferring all of the services back to Turbine, including testing, customer service and billing services.
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In preparation for the franchise’s arrival, Turbine has been building a customer service group to manage its games’ day-to-day operations. Over the next year, the company will assume all responsibility for Asheron’s Call and Asheron’s Call 2 game and player support, including customer service, tech support, quality assurance and a new billing system. Specific details and dates regarding on-going operations of the Asheron’s Call franchise will be announced in the near future.