THQ and WWE Settle Legal Feud, Sign New Contract

Publisher THQ, athletic soap opera organisation World Wrestling Entertainment and toy designer JAKKS Pacific today declared a peaceful end to their long-running legal battle.

The dispute dates back to 2004, when the WWE alleged that JAKKS Pacific had bribed the WWE's licensing agent to gain the license over better proposals from competitors, then joined forces with THQ to produce the games as JAKKS could not do so itself.

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010.

A press release explains "under the three-party settlement, all claims are withdrawn and all litigation ended among the parties without any party admitting any wrongdoing," though THQ will pay WWE $13.2 million "as part of the resolution of these matters."

THQ has now signed a new eight-year agreement with the WWE, granting it exclusive worldwide WWE video game publishing and development rights from January 1, 2010.

The publisher has boasted of net WWE video game sales "in excess of $1.4 billion" from titles including the WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw series and various Wrestlemania games.