Atari has announced that it is no longer focusing on mobile and free-to-play titles and will be doing a U-turn to develop new PC and console games.
Earlier this year, Atari decided to divide its ventures between Atari Gaming and Atari Blockchain. Following an internal reshuffle within its executive roles, it has undertaken steps to reinvigorate the brand after the damage that was done in filing for bankruptcy in 2013. "This spectacular turnaround is the result of solid teamwork and support from the shareholders, and I would like to thank each and every one of these individuals. We can all be proud of this outcome," said ex-chief executive officer Frédéric Chesnais, who is now the head of licensing and Atari Blockchain.
"Our intent with any gaming experience is to provide accessible and joyful moments of meaningful play," said CEO Wade J. Rosen in a statement yesterday. "That's the core of Atari and what binds our history with our future. To that end, we feel that premium gaming is better representative of this type of gaming experience and the Atari DNA."
Advert
Check out the trailer for the Atari VCS, which boasts high-performance Radeon Vega graphics architecture and two Zen CPU cores.
Consequently, these "premium" titles will offer those who backed the Atari VCS a number of new games to play on the microconsole, as well as allowing the company to elbow into the software development space.
The first game to arrive from this new shift in priorities will launch before March 31st, 2022. It also stated that "the competitive and marketing environment is weighing on the free-to-play business model."
Advert
As a result, those titles that are counted in that category and have a healthy user base will remain while those that are out of favour with the community will be shut down or sold off. This list includes Roller Coaster Tycoon Stories, Crystal Castles, Castles & Catapults, Ninja Golf, and Atari Combat: Tank Fury. The fact that we're getting new PC and console games from the company has caused me to short-circuit. Recently, Atari appeared to be fascinated by anything that wasn't video games, and it's interesting to see it rock up on the scene again.
Mike loves the Evercade to bits - so much so that he's yet to pick up a new-gen console because this chunk of plastic and circuitry is cutting the mustard. "There's no need to add your own shadily acquired ROMs here, and fiddle with the settings to make sure you're not playing on a blank screen. Everything in the Evercade library is legit - and that brings with it a satisfying sense that you're giving something back, however small that something is," said Mike, Read the rest of his feature on the handheld right here.
Featured Image Credit: Kevin Bidwell via Pexels, Atari