Infogrammes sells rights to Civ
 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/11...s_6113971.html

I guess Firaxis is still developing it...what influence does the publisher really have except for marketing?

A lot, I guess. Things like setting the release date, and so on. This in turn means forcing developers to produce untested products, which in turn leads to the sell of an unfinished product...

The release date is the only thing I can think of. But that's the biggest problem Civ3 had, along with both it's expansion packs. So hopefully the new owner will have more feeling for that. :)
I very much hope Firaxis will be the new owner!

Just imagine thst Activision has bought the rights.

I dunno if they still carry a grudge concerning the old lawsuit the lost, but if so they might try to get even with Firaxis. Although they technically have nothing to do with the old MicroProse. Ah well, we'll see.