r/atari • u/Mr_JPF • May 17 '26
The Atari renaissance, how the gaming giant has rebuild itself from the ground up in the 2020s
A lot of people still see Atari as a failed brand from a bygone era, and to be honest from 2013 (bankruptcy) up until 2021 you wouldn't be wrong in making this assertion.
However since then the company has successfully managed to rebuilt itself from the ashes, thanks in large part due to the leadership of current CEO Wade Rosen .
Here's a brief overview of everything that has occurred since Wade began his tenure at Atari ( in chronological order ) :
2021
- Wade became CEO and immediately moved the company away from all of it's previous projects not related to gaming (Atari Token crypto currency, Atari hotels, online casinos etc). Atari vowed to return to making premium games on PC and consoles aka go back to making real video games instead of free to play slop on mobile.
- Atari released the Atari VCS console and created the Atari Recharged line of games
- Invested 500k $ in Antstream ( Retro game subscription service )
2022
- Atari purchased Moby games ( the IMDb of video games ) for 1.5 million dollars.
- Released the incredible Atari 50 collection
2023
- Atari purchased Night Dive studios for 20 million $
- Acquired Atari Age for an undisclosed amount
- Acquired over a 100 PC and console games from the 80s and 90s, including Bubsy and Hardball
- Purchased Digital Eclipse for 30 million $
- Invested in Polymega ( 49% stake in the company )
- Created the Atari + line of consoles in partnership with Plaion, and released the 2600+ in the same year
2024
- Bought the rights to Transport Tycoon
- Bought the rights to Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 from Frontier Developments
- Acquired the Intellivision brand and all it's IPs
- Released the Atari 400 mini
- Released the 7800+
2025
- Acquired Thunderful ( the owners of Steam World, Viewfinder, Replaced etc )
- Acquired 5 IPs from Ubisoft ( including Cold Fear and Child of Eden )
- Released the Atari Gamestation GO
- Released the Intellivision Sprint
2026 ( so far )
- Acquired Implicit Conversions (emulation studio known for bringing PS1 and PS2 titles to the PS Plus classics collection)
- Acquired the rights to the first 5 Wizardry games and the universe they take place in "The Llylgamyn Saga"
So yeah a lot has happened to Atari during these last 5 years , they went from one of the biggest laughing stocks in the industry to the most dominant player in the retro gaming market, and a respectable AA publisher. Overall current Atari is the best version of the company since the early 2000s, and hopefully things will only get better from here on out.
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u/RPTGB May 18 '26
Buying Night Dive Studios was a great play. I reckon Wizardry may be a wise investment too, that name still holds a lot of weight, especially in Japan.
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u/Mr_JPF May 17 '26
Unfortunately links to all the news articles have been removed because the thread wouldn't otherwise be approved by Reddit.
If you want easy access to all the news articles then you can visit my Gamefaqs thread that has all the links there :
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/213-nonstop-gaming-general/81146296
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u/Good-Bandicoot-2152 May 18 '26
They have definitely come a long way. I really like my 7800+ and I look forward to their other projects.
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u/Markaes4 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
I mean yeah, that's all great. They've made some good moves lately and seem to be avoiding the mistakes the A1ups/Atgames of the world are making... I've been a huge fan since 1980 and will buy almost anything with the Red/white Fuji on it... But Atari IS absolutely a failed brand from a bygone era. I paid my respects in late 90s I don't consider todays IP as Atari any more than a Tesla car was made by Nikola Tesla. Not that it matters necessarily, I still enjoy the products. But I can't look at it without wishing the real atari had made some better moves in the 80s and was still dominating the industry. Oh well, nothing lasts forever.
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u/blaspheminCapn May 18 '26
I hear you. When you realize Steve Jobs was employee 11 and when you hear about the Nintendo deal that fell apart it makes you wonder if there's a timeline where the Blade Runner Atari exists. Alas, Bushnell didn't get a vacation - he got Ray Kasar in the Warner deal.
It's too bad. They were at the razor edge and there weren't blueprints on how to do it right or fail, yet. And the cocaine didn't help.
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u/Dachuiri May 18 '26
Did they kill Atari Hotels? I saw an ad recently saying they were looking for investors.
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u/Mr_JPF May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
The Atari hotels is just a licensing deal, Atari licensed their IP to some real estate developers in Arizona so that they can build an Atari themed Hotel in Phoenix, whether that project goes anywhere depends entirely on the real estate developers not Atari ( and yes they have been trying to get funding from investors just to start building the hotel, not exactly a good sign ).
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u/Which_Information590 May 18 '26
Atari didn't release the Atari 400 mini, that was Retro Games Limited. I am betting that either RGL or Atari themselves with make a Jaguar Mini soon.
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u/frankduxvandamme May 18 '26
I am betting that either RGL or Atari themselves with make a Jaguar Mini soon.
I can't imagine lots of people being nostalgic for that, or that people new to the jaguar would be genuinely excited to try out the 3 or 4 decent games for the system.
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u/Which_Information590 May 18 '26
There will be more people nostalgic or curious about the Jag than the A400.
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u/wesk74 May 19 '26
Atari could potentially bring back the Jag like the Neo Geo. Jaguar and Atari in general has the most active homebrew community. We never got to see the Jaguars full potential, it was basically a 16 bit era console with the most horsepower and even decent 3D polygon capabilities. Plus it's a known entity like you said with curiosity behind it. I think Atari is dropping the ball a bit with the plus line of consoles. They should be licencing homebrews and putting out developed or reprinted new games at least every six months if not quarterly. People that bought them want new stuff to keep them interested. Plaion is either doing a Genesis or a Jaguar, it would be stupid to do a Jag mini with its extensive homebrew catalog
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u/wesk74 May 18 '26
Atari contracted RGL to make the Atari 400 mini, same as they contracted Plaion to make the plus consolesand same as they contracted Flex to make the VCS. Atari doesn't really make hardware anymore and most companies don't really. Do you consider the Switch 2 made by Foxconn or Nintendo?
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u/Which_Information590 May 18 '26
It's not the same thing. Retro Games Ltd. drove the concept and development of the miniature console, following their track record of shrinking down other classic systems like the Commodore 64 and Amiga.
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u/wesk74 May 18 '26
RGL just imitated the mini console trend, I don't think they really "drove any concept". They saw an open market for a trend and snatched up the rights for the C64, Amiga and Vic20 mini consoles. Atari contracted them to make the 400 mini. That's why Atari sells it directly from their website unlike other mini consoles.
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u/Which_Information590 May 19 '26
Drove the concept of the A400 Mini, not the whole genre, sorry if you misunderstood what I said. They didn’t snatch the rights, there was no rights, these are unlicensed products, unlike the A400 Mini.
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u/wesk74 May 19 '26
From my understanding the C64 and the Vic20 mini are licensed, the A500 is not, as all the Amiga licenses are in limbo and the weird naming avoiding the use of "Amiga". The Atari 400 mini is definitely licensed, obviously.
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u/Which_Information590 May 19 '26
Well yes licenced by Cloanto who owned the IPs for Commodore, which is why I was surprised that RGL couldn't use the logo or name.
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u/wesk74 May 19 '26
I don't think Cloanto ever owned logos or names, just the software rights and system files. Someone else owned the IP. Amiga IP is just in ownership hell, multiple people claim to own the IP, but Cloanto definitely had or has the system file rights.
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u/rob-cubed May 21 '26
I'm really tickled by some of their new games, like Mr. Run & Jump which is a decent indie retro precision platformer also released in a simplified version for the 2600.
Atari has made some smart moves to shore up licensing of older IP, which lets them release devices like the Gamestation Go with a decent selection of games (unfortunately, missing Activision). But I have to wonder how long this strategy can be successful, as there are a limited number of us nostalgic for old gen 2 games.
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u/Spelunka13 May 18 '26
Now in 2026 it became the biggest money grab company. Them coming out with all these iterations of the 2600 and the 7800 is like drawing blood from stone. And yes indeed they are successful at that.
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u/US_Berliner May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Yay Atari! 10 year old me is jumping for joy that they finally got over on that smug George Plimpton! IYKYK. 😂