GSC Game World insists it still holds the sole intellectual property rights to the STALKER game series and the overall brand. The Ukrainian company said so in a statement released last night in response to reports that independent German publisher bitComposer Entertainment had acquired the rights to make future STALKER game adaptations.

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bitComposer Entertainment has announced that it has acquired the rights for future video game adaptations of the acclaimed S.T.A.L.K.E.R. brand from Boris Natanovich Strygatsky.

Boris Natanovich Strygatsky passed away unexpectedly on the 19th of November, 2012, at the age of 79. All other rights of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R brand remain with the Strugatsky brothers.

Since the 2007 release of the first part, “Shadow of Chernobyl,” the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series has received numerous national and international awards. So far, the three titles in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series have been released exclusively for Windows PC.

The games in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series are adapted from the novel Roadside Picnic by the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, which was also the basis of a film. The film Stalker, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, was produced in 1979, and is considered a classic of Soviet cinema.
“The acquisition of the S.T.AL.K.E.R. license serves as an important cornerstone for the further international orientation of bitComposer Entertainment AG,” says Stefan Weyl, member of the bitComposer Entertainment AG executive board. “For us, this brand represents a bridge to an important segment of triple-A products and a milestone in the history of the company. We would like to express our gratitude to Boris Natanovich Strygatsky.”

“S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a reputable brand with a long history of success. To date, the series has sold many millions of units worldwide,” says Wolfgang Duhr, member of the bitComposer Entertainment AG executive board. “Naturally, we’d like to tap into the success of this series, and we see a great deal of potential for the future.”

Further details will be released shortly.