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Atari acquires 100 classic franchises including Bubsy and Hardball

Vintage is in vogue.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

April 20, 2023

1 Min Read
The retail cover for Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales
Image via The Cover Project

Atari has acquired more than 100 console and PC games from the '80s and '90s including titles from the Bubsy, Hardball, and Demolition Racer series.

The company has also purchased the 1942: Pacific Air War, F-117A, and F-14 air combat franchises and grabbed the trademarks for the Accolade and GTI brands.

Atari said it plans to create more games based on its newly-acquired franchises, explore branding and merchandising collaborations, and expand digital and physical distribution.

"This is a deep catalog that includes groundbreaking and award-winning titles from Accolade, Infogrames and Microprose," said Atari CEO Wade Rosen. "Many of these titles are a part of Atari history, and fans can look forward to seeing many of these games re-released in physical and digital formats, and in some cases, even ported to modern consoles."

The sweet taste of nostalgia

Rosen has previously suggested these sort of deals are part of Atari's plan to begin "commercializing classic retro IP," suggesting that's why the company also picked up the rights to 12 retro series, including Berzerk and Frenzy, back in March.

The CEO has backed himself to steer the company though choppy waters, with Rosen last year making a "friendly offer" to purchase Atari to support its development ambitions.

That came after Atari posted half-year losses of $5.7 million during the first six months of 2022, with the waning fortunes of the Atari VCS console–which looks to be dead in the water for the time being due to the suspension of manufacturing contracts–largely to blame for that downturn.

About the Author

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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