VR specialist developer nDreams has been acquired by Swedish gaming group Aonic for $110 million.
01.11.2023 - 19:33 / pcgamer.com / Wade Rosen
Atari has announced it has reached an agreement to buy Digital Eclipse, a studio based in Emeryville, California that specialises in «digital restoration of classic games.» The move follows Atari's acquisition of Nightdive Studios in May this year, another studio with a retro focus that most recently developed the System Shock remake, and is all part of what the press release calls Atari's «retro-focused growth strategy.»
Well it makes a lot more sense than Atari hotels, at least. Digital Eclipse was a pioneer in commercial videogame emulation and recent projects from the studio include Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary, Mega Man Legacy Collection, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, and Disney Classic Games Collection, which collectively «sold millions of units». Its most recent projects include the excellent Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection, the well-received The Making of Karateka, and the remake of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, which is currently in Early Access.
«Digital Eclipse is the best in the world at what they do,» said Wade Rosen, chairman and CEO of Atari. «They have a deep love and respect for the history of the games industry, and are renowned for developing critically acclaimed projects based on historic franchises. Digital Eclipse, along with Nightdive, are in perfect alignment with Atari’s DNA and renewed purpose.»
Mike Mika, president and creative director of Digital Eclipse, said, «Our experience collaborating on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration was revelatory. The trust that Atari showed our team, and our clear mutual love and respect for the content, positioned us to produce something truly remarkable. I know Atari will continue to champion our approach and that we will be bringing fans exciting new projects for years to come.»
The deal is for an initial $4 million in cash and $2.5 million in Atari stock up front, as well as a remaining «earn-out» of $13.5 million in cash over the next ten years based on performance. The acquisition is expected to close within days.
Atari under Rosen's leadership has been looking increasingly impressive. There have been some missteps along the way like the hotels and NFTs, and the company still has a division dedicated to blockchain stuff, but in recent years it's doubled-down on what Atari can be very good at: keeping gaming history alive, and re-packaging and re-mastering classic games in a manner that can appeal to contemporary audiences.
Atari also recently acquired the AtariAge archive (as well as announcing a new 2600 that takes cartridges) ands the rights to hundreds of games from the 80s and 90s. Both Digital Eclipse and Nightdive Studios are best-in-class at
VR specialist developer nDreams has been acquired by Swedish gaming group Aonic for $110 million.
Storage seems to be a low priority when it comes to the gaming PCs that get heavy discounts for Black Friday. You'll go down the specs for an impressive deal and then the SSD size will hit you like a slap in the face. A single 1TB SSD isn't going to cut it when even non-Call of Duty games, like Baldur's Gate 3, will take up over 100GB of space.
The Atari 2600 is one of the first systems that often comes to mind with the thought of retro video games. Now the original console has been recreated in exquisite detail by PLAION and Atari with their updated version, the Atari 2600+. It is an exact 1:1 replica of the original machine and even the same CX40+ Joystick, but now offers USB power connectors, HDMI output, multiple screen resolutions, and is backwards compatible with both the Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridges of the past. It is a beautiful console that is incredibly fun for nostalgic purposes, but even after more than fifty years, it is not flawless in its gameplay mechanics.
Hyperkin's up-to-date version of the legendary 'Duke' Xbox controller is currently down to a record-low price at Amazon US. But stock is selling through fast, meaning you may want to act now if you want to secure the gamepad for yourself.
Digital Eclipse has announced via Twitter that they will reveal the next game in their Gold Master Series during the Day of the Devs The Game Awards Edition on December 6, 2023. This follows this year’s August release of The Making of Karateka.
Xbox and Inworld AI have announced a multi-year deal to develop AI game dialogue and narrative tools.
Industry icon Atari is acquiring retro developer Digital Eclipse.
Devolver Digital has acquired Astroneer developer System Era Softworks in a deal worth up to $40 million. System Era broke the news in a blog post and described the move as an "amazing milestone" for both itself and Devolver.
Devolver Digital joined the consolidation craze with the acquisition of System Era Softworks for up to $40 million.
Digital Eclipse, a developer that specializes in porting classic games to modern hardware, is now set to be acquired by Atari.
Devolver Digital has acquired Astroneer developer System Era Softworks, the companies announced.
Atari has agreed to acquire development and restoration studio Digital Eclipse for an initial $6.5 million in cash and newly-issued shares. An earn-out of up to $13.5 million tied to the future performance of Digital Eclipse over the next decade means the value of the deal could rise to $20 million.