In case you haven’t heard, the Fallout franchise is now in good hands. Last week, Interplay sold the Fallout intellectual property rights to Bethesda Softworks for $5.75 million, which is just pennies when taking into account the franchise’s emotional pull on PC gamers.

Word of this development was first spotted on the No Mutants Allowed forum, along with the 8-K government filing:

Under the APA, the Company sold all of its rights to the IP to Bethesda for a total amount of $5,750,000.00 payable to the Company, subject to various conditions, in three cash installments. The first installment of $2,000,000.00 was paid following closing when $200,000.00 was paid to the Company and $1,800,000.00 was deposited into an escrow account to satisfy various liabilities. The Company expects to have fulfilled its obligations under the APA and to receive full payment during the third quarter of 2007. The Company had previously, on June 29, 2004, entered into, an exclusive licensing agreement with Bethesda, regarding the IP which was superseded by the APA.

The good news for Fallout fans is that the series is gaining the stability it needs to survive to make it to its second sequel. Interestingly enough, right after selling off the IP to Bethesda, Interplay is licensing Fallout for rights to develop an Interplay-branded Fallout MMO. Bethesda will receive from Interplay 12 percent of sales, subscription fees and other revenues generated by the upcoming MMO.

While this development may not have any huge effect on the development of Fallout 3, it ensures that we may see a fourth and fifth game should Bethesda (and the market) see fit.