This morning, Hasbro (King of Toys) and Jagex, creators of RuneScape, announced a strategic development agreement on releasing a Transformers massivley-multiplayer-online-game.

CEO of Jagex Games Studio Mark Gerhard said in a press release,

"TRANSFORMERS is one of the most iconic brands in the world and we are delighted to team up with Hasbro in order to bring our shared vision to reality. There is a huge appetite for an online TRANSFORMERS game and we will utilize every bit of our development and publishing expertise to deliver a dynamic and action-packed game that TRANSFORMERS fans will find irresistible."

Damn straight you will, Mark. The backlash from a shitty Transformers game is going to be a lot worse than the backlash for a shitty Transformers Film.

Get excited though- the game debuts sometime in 2012 (hopefully before the world ends).

I am absolutely riddled with DINOBOT fever. Here's hoping.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) announced today that it has signed a strategic development agreement with Jagex Limited to jointly create a new online game based on the globally iconic TRANSFORMERS brand. Under the agreement, the two companies are slated to launch the TRANSFORMERS online game in 2012 in North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

Jagex, based in the United Kingdom, is one of the largest independent game developers and publishers in the world with a dedicated global user base of millions playing its more than 40 online games. The company's flagship game, RuneScape, is the world's most popular free-to-play MMOG.

"Hasbro's decision to align with Jagex speaks to the quality of their award-winning development and publishing team that boasts an outstanding track record of delivering innovative and fun online games capable of reaching millions of gamers across the globe," said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Gaming and Media at Hasbro. "We are extremely excited to create a dream team that combines TRANSFORMERS brand stewards with Jagex development experts to deliver an epic TRANSFORMERS gaming experience to fans in 2012."

"TRANSFORMERS is one of the most iconic brands in the world and we are delighted to team up with Hasbro in order to bring our shared vision to reality," said Mark Gerhard, CEO at Jagex Games Studio. "There is a huge appetite for an online TRANSFORMERS game and we will utilize every bit of our development and publishing expertise to deliver a dynamic and action-packed game that TRANSFORMERS fans will find irresistible."

About TRANSFORMERS
The TRANSFORMERS brand has delivered "MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE" action to legions of fans around the world for more than 25 years. As one of the hottest global entertainment properties, TRANSFORMERS captures excitement through action figure play, movies, television, digital gaming, comics, and more.

About Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company's world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Hub, Hasbro's multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is http://www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.

Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com.

About Jagex Games Studio
Jagex Games Studio is a multi-award winning games developer based in Cambridge, England. Jagex specialises in the development of high quality browser-based games and is the largest independent games developer and publisher in the UK.

Jagex has a long-standing reputation for creating the world's best online games and for developing hugely popular, high quality, accessible, free-to-play games and for providing an unbeatable community experience for millions of players around the world. Jagex has developed and self-published over 40 online titles, including the world's most popular free multiplayer online game, RuneScape.com

In addition to RuneScape, Jagex self-publishes games on its games portal Jagex.com, and has released a series of successful iPhone games including BounceDown, StarCannon, and Miner Disturbance. Jagex also acts as a third-party publisher for likeminded developers, publishing titles such as the real-time strategy game War of Legends and the iPhone title Undercroft.