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'There's not a really strong moat around this space, so competition can increase rapidly and decrease rapidly. The ones that survive have a strong brand.'
Atari is taking a different approach to publishing. Under the stewardship of CEO Wade Rosen, the company revived the Infogrames label earlier this year to "publish games that fall outside the core portfolio of IP associated with the Atari brand," while also developing new collections and sequels.
Speaking to Game Developer about Atari's publishing drive at Gamescom 2024, Rosen said the company hopes to position Infogrames as a "preservationist" publisher that can acquire franchises from developers who simply don't have the resources or bandwidth to support them anymore.
"Infogrames is pretty unique in that we had a lot of opportunities coming to us of games or IPs that people wanted to sell because they felt like they shouldn't just disappear," says Rosen, noting that's precisely why it acquired Totally Reliable Delivery Service, Awesomenauts, and Surgeon Simulator.
As those deals started to stack up, Atari resurrected Infogrames to provide a home for a growing number of franchises that didn't neatly fit into its core business segments. "We felt like Infogrames was the right place to have those series and carry them on. So, for Infogrames it's really about games that developers and publishers have moved on from–that probably still have some life in them," continues Rosen.
"The goal is to then [engage in] preservationist publishing. What that means for each title will be variable. Sometimes it's just making it accessible on more platforms. Sometimes it's remastering. Sometimes it's sequels."
It's a fascinating model in that Atari isn't really interested in speaking with developers about new projects. Rosen explains those deals wouldn't give the company a "competitive advantage." and notes that corner of the market is already dominated by major players like Devolver Digital and Annapurna. Atari has no intention of stepping on their toes.
"[We're really interested in] IPs that have been out for a long time, that people have moved on from. The people who want to focus on their future projects and want to raise capital to make new games and focus on those–that's really what Infogrames is looking for," he continues.
"Why we don't typically look at unreleased projects is I don't think we're more qualified to do that than anyone else. I don't think we have a competitive advantage. I don't think we're the best in the world at it. Best in class at it. So, really, why would we do it?"
Rosen says Atari is targeting "straightforward" and "clean" IP acquisitions. He feels it's tough to work on a franchise if there are lots of "complications" and red tape. In the long-term, pursuing those deals should help the company mitigate risk. That's vital for Rosen.
He acknowledges publishing is a "tough business" fraught with uncertainty, and that's why you have to carve out a visible niche. "There's not a really strong moat around this space, so competition can increase rapidly and decrease rapidly. The ones that survive have a strong brand," he says.
"I think that's the only way indie [publishing] works. You have to become a publisher that transcends those games, and than have the discipline to choose games that support that [brand]. That probably means saying 'no' to games that could be commercially viable, but might be confusing to your target demographic. That's why we started Infogrames."
Moving forward, Atari is "definitely" in the market for more IPs and it's evident Rosen has a personal shopping list. He explains Atari's rich history in arcades means it's always interested in nabbing vintage morsels from that era. That tallies with the company's decision to nab the rights to 100 classic franchises in one fell swoop last year.
It's always worth having a few moonshots in mind, too, and Rosen says he'd personally love to do something with Ogre Battle, the classic tactical-RPG currently owned by Square Enix.
"I loved Ogre Battle. I know Tactics Ogre, they just put out the remaster, which is basically a port of the PSP game. But love that world. I would love to see us to something with Ogre Battle at some point," he adds. "Tactics Ogre is pretty well covered. Even if it's not an acquisition–if Square is reading this please let us remaster Ogre Battle."
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