The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena has become the latest title to be snapped up after suffering at the hands of the Activision-Blizzard merger – and it’s Atari once again doing the honours.

Having allegedly already snapped up the rights to publish Ghostbusters next year, Atari has now acquired the rights to publish Starbreeze’s next-gen remake of its popular Xbox and PC outing Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Starbreeze, of course, is also hard at work on another gritty futuristic outing – EA’s new Syndicate title.

“It’s very exciting to have Assault on Dark Athena as part of Atari’s 2009 publishing line-up,” Infogrames Entertainment president Phil Harrison stated. "The first game in the series was a landmark in action gaming and the outstanding team at Starbreeze are creating a feature-packed follow-up which will delight fans and new players alike.”

VP and general manager of Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group Bill Kispert added: “The Riddick IP offers a rich universe from which to develop no-holds barred games, and we’ve believed that since the days of the Pitch Black film."

The deal sees the publisher also claim right to future gaming adaptations of the franchise. Atari also confirmed that the re-make will also boast a brand new full-length single player campaign.

Vin Diesel joins 50 Cent in disembarking from the Activision-Blizzard ship, having recently joined camp THQ.