New Line has signed a video game licensing deal with Sega for His Dark Materials, reports Variety. The agreement gives Sega interactive rights to all three books in the trilogy; the company is already at work on The Golden Compass game and plans to release it on multiple consoles next November, to tie in with the film's release. New Line are expected to unveil several other major licensing deals for HDM in the next few weeks, including a master toy license and numerous promotional partners. Read more.

“We are excited to be partnering with New Line and Scholastic to bring the dark and fantastic story of the His Dark Materials trilogy to the video game audience,” said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America, Inc. “The Golden Compass is a perfect match for the video game medium with compelling characters engaged in a heroic conflict between good and evil in an incredible and rich fantasy world.”

“For New Line's biggest film since The Lord of the Rings, we knew we wanted an interactive partner that had the talent, the scope and the reach to deliver AAA video games to the four corners of the globe,” said David Imhoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Worldwide Licensing and Merchandising for New Line Cinema. “For The Golden Compass, that company is SEGA.”

“We are confident that SEGA will create a compelling interactive experience that fully realises the power and magic of The Golden Compass,” said movie Producer Deborah Forte. “We’re thrilled to be working with SEGA.”