While Atari is publishing the game in North America and Europe, Turbine retains publishing rights in Asia. Shanda will act not only as the localization partner for the game, but also lend a hand with content nuances for the Chinese market. The two companies will "cooperate extensively in developing and localizing" that game and others for Chinese gamers, Turbine said yesterday in a statement.

"Shanda has become a gateway into the Chinese online gaming market," said Jeff Anderson, president and CEO of Turbine. "This agreement signals Turbine's commitment to a long-term presence in China."

In the contentious world of game publishing in China, Shanda considers itself the largest in terms of revenue and number of concurrent users on its game servers. The company says it often tallies 2 million concurrent users playing its games.