AMD to bundle Blizzard games with ATI cards

AMD announced a deal with Blizzard to bundle Blizzard's best games with ATI Radeon graphics cards:

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Blizzard Entertainment® that will allow AMD to bundle Blizzard’s best games across all ATI Radeon™ graphics products, to deliver a superior gaming experience. As the exclusive graphics sponsor for BlizzCon™ 2008 in Anaheim, Oct. 10-11, AMD will treat gamers to the unparalleled graphics capabilities of the ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 series in all PCs for game play at BlizzCon™.

“Blizzard Entertainment is responsible for the hottest titles in PC gaming and AMD is excited to be working closely with one of the top development teams in the industry to deliver exceptional gaming experiences for players around the world,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products, AMD. “Gamers have a variety of choices when it comes to graphics cards, and those who choose ATI Radeon solutions can be confident their purchase will give them the visually rich, high-performance experience they expect.”

“Our collaboration with AMD is especially important to us because it provides us with early access to some of the latest graphics technology,” said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. “Delivering a polished game experience is one of our top priorities, and this relationship helps us achieve that goal for Blizzard gamers who choose AMD graphics cards.”

AMD is committed to helping PC gamers around the world enjoy The Ultimate Visual Experience™. The collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment underscores the mission of its recently announced AMD GAME! initiative, which is dedicated to providing consumers the information they need to help them better understand gaming technology and thus purchase the right systems and components they need to best meet their high-definition gaming needs.

Unfortunately AMD didn't announce which games will be bundled with ATI cards but there aren't a lot of possibilities as Blizzard hasn't been releasing a plethora of games in the last couple of years. A quick look at Blizzard's portfolio limits it down to either the six years old Warcraft III or a couple of weeks/months of free access to World of Warcraft.

Starcraft II is another possibility but it seems a bit unlikely as that game isn't expected before 2009.