[biotech66]

I love Shadowrun as much as the Next guy, but I don't have your backgrounds.  Besides searching old books stores, does anybody know of any plans to get the novels and such out as PDFS/kindle friendly formats?

[Namikaze]

Oooh, that's a tough question.  With the IP snafu that's been happening for decades now, it's probably not going to happen.  As much as I'd love to see it.  Sad panda.   

[DeathStrobe]

It looks like that they're suppose to rerelease Nigel Findley's novels under the title Omnibus, sometime in the future(?) I hope anyway.

[biotech66]

Whats the story with the IP?

[Kincaid]

That question opens up a whole can of worms, but the short version (and it's complicated, so I may have missed something).

FASA Corp. publishes Shadowrun 1st. edition in 1989.
In 2001 (now in 3rd edition), FASA effectively closes shop, but licenses its various IPs.
Weisman, through Smith & Tinker, holds the video game rights and licenses them to Microsoft, who puts out a FPS in 2007 no one is allowed to talk about.
WizKids buys the Shadowrun IP and licenses it to FanPro. 
FanPro is bought by Topps in 2003. 
FanPro releases 4th edition in 2005.
In 2007 FanPro gave up the license to Shadowrun RPG material (my understanding is they still have the license for English fiction, but may be wrong about that).
Topps then gives the license to Catalyst.
Catalyst releases 20th Anniversary edition in 2009.
In 2012 Weisman has a Kickstarter campaign and buys back licenses the video rights from Microsoft, later releasing Shadowrun Returns.
In 2013 Catalyst releases 5th edition.

It's fair to say that some of these moments were unexpected and fairly dramatic and contributors have...mixed...feelings about some of the previous IP holders, but that's the bare bone version.

[Michael Chandra]

Weisman hasn't bought the video rights, as proven by the DRM debacle, where it took them quite a while to negotiate DRM-free buyable versions. Microsoft has the rights over videogames, and CP+HBS license those right now.

So basically there's rights for the RPG books, for fictions, for videogames, and none of these are held by the companies developing the stuff, so for everything they create they have to work through chains of rights.

[Kincaid]

Weisman hasn't bought the video rights, as proven by the DRM debacle, where it took them quite a while to negotiate DRM-free buyable versions. Microsoft has the rights over videogames, and CP+HBS license those right now.

So basically there's rights for the RPG books, for fictions, for videogames, and none of these are held by the companies developing the stuff, so for everything they create they have to work through chains of rights.

To add yet another layer to all this mess, Topps owns the Shadowrun Duels IP, but has shuttered WizKids, so that branch of things is effectively closed as well.

[TormDK]

It's a shame they shut down the Shadowrun FPS game released in 2007.

I remember purchasing Windows Vista just to play it Decent enough game, even if as a PC gamer, I was hunted by the console folks for the cross-platform achivement

[Agonar]

Weisman, through Smith & Tinker, holds the video game rights and licenses them to Microsoft, who puts out a FPS in 2007 no one is allowed to talk about.

I bet you also spread rumors that there was a Highlander 2 released....

[biotech66]

So Shadowrun has a nice home at shadowrun.com.  are these guys working nice together so everybody gets more money?  Or is there a lot of infighting?

[Michael Chandra]

The three companies work together to help keep their canon straight, and tie it all together. So with SRR:Dragonfall, I'm guessing Firewing's fate is now official canon. Meanwhile, Shadowrun Online will take place in the Shadowrun Fifth Edition timeline, and impact it in the long run. The two companies work together, not sure in what way exactly, on the Boston story, so Cliffhanger won't suddenly introduce a big plotline that makes Catalyst go "wait what, no."

[Kincaid]

FanPro and Topps are (still?) fighting over who has rights to German-language fiction.

[Namikaze]

That was a pretty good summary, Kincaid.  With Microsoft, Catalyst, WizKids, FanPro, Topps, FASA, Cliffhanger, and Harebrained Schemes all in the mix it's amazing that we get anything.  Not to mention: who has all the publishing rights for the fiction?  If this was a bigger-named IP, this probably would get scooped up completely by one company and then licensed out to the smaller ones.

[biotech66]

You say that and Hasbro might come on by....