Skip to main content

Atari’s latest acquisition is a game preservation power play

The Atari logo appears in gold.
Atari

Atari continues to grow its stake in the game remaster market with the acquisition of Digital Eclipse, the developer behind 2022’s fantastic Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration collection.

Digital Eclipse has existed since the early 1990s but has made a name for itself over the last decade or so in creating fantastic remastered collections like Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. More recently, it has honed a documentary-style presentation for titles like Atari 50 and The Making of Karateka, providing thorough looks at the history of important companies and games. Atari seems interested in growing its library of IP and stake in retro re-releases, so it’s understandable why Atari would purchase Digital Eclipse following its acquisition of the System Shock remake’s Nightdive Studios earlier in the year.

It’s a $20 million acquisition, with Atari paying $6.5 million when the deal closes soon and another $13.5 million over the next decade if Digital Eclipse meets performance targets. As for what this means when it comes to Digital Eclipse functioning day-to-day, an FAQ on the developer’s website goes into more detail.

Digital Eclipse confirms that while this acquisition will give it greater access to the library of franchises that Atari owns, it is not locked into only working on Atari properties. The Gold Master Series that The Making of Karateka is a part of will continue as well, with Digital Eclipse teasing that the next entry is almost done in a recent newsletter. Ultimately, Digital Eclipse seems to hope that Atari’s support will mainly give them more resources to continue to refine projects that align with what the studio is already known for, including a Wizardry: Proving Ground of the Mad Overlord remake that’s currently in early access on Steam.

“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,” Digital Eclipse President Mike Mika said of the acquisition. “I know Atari will continue to champion our approach and that we will be bringing fans exciting new projects for years to come.”

Editors' Recommendations

Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
Nintendo Switch vs. PlayStation Portal: which portable device is best?
playstation portal review remote player vs switch oled

Handheld gaming has come back in a big way this past generation. Nintendo formerly held the crown as the king of the dedicated handheld market with its unfathomably successful DS line, which would eventually combine into a home console with the equally impressive Switch. PlayStation attempted to get into this market with the PSP and PS Vita but appeared to bow out of that competition when the latter failed to achieve much success. However, the new PlayStation Portal device could provide players with an alternative to Nintendo's aging system.

If you're debating between the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation Portal, here's a full breakdown of how the two devices stack up.
Nintendo Switch Vs. PlayStation Portal specs
When it comes to specs, let's start with the easy comparisons.

Read more
Best Buy deals: Save on laptops, TVs, appliances, and more
best buy shuts down insignia line smart home products store 2 768x768

One of the best places to shop for almost anything involving electronics says so right in its name: Best Buy. The retail giant has a ton of departments with some of today’s most popular devices, components, and appliances for sale. It also offers a lot of these at a discount, which is certainly what we’re seeing right now. Some of the best TV deals, best tablet deals, best laptop deals, and best phone deals can currently be found at Best Buy, and those are just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve tracked down all of the best deals you can shop at Best Buy right now, so read onward for some gift ideas for yourself or a loved one and for some great ways to save.
Best Buy TV deals

There may be no better place to purchase one of the best TVs than Best Buy. There is almost always some huge savings to find on TVs at Best Buy, and that’s certainly the case right now. You’ll find deals top TV brands like Sony, Samsung, and LG, and more budget-friendly brands like TCL and Hisense are in play, too.

Read more
Best PS5 SSD deals: Add more storage to your PS5 from $80
A 2TB WD Black

If you've snapped up one of the better PS5 deals around at the moment, it's a smart move to also buy one of the best SSDs for PS5 so you can easily expand your PlayStation 5's storage. While the internal storage will get you started, as you install more games and download more titles from the PSN store, the more you'll find yourself limited for space. That's why we've sought out all the best PS5 SSD deals around right now. Below, we've listed the best PS5 SSDs so you won't have to worry about any compatibility issues or installing a heatsink for yourself. Different sizes and price ranges are available here so you'll easily find the right one for your situation.
Our favorite PS5 SSD deal

It wasn't that long ago that you'd have to pay well over $100 to get a SSD for your PS5 and often, it'd be slower than the pricier alternatives. These days, you can buy a Samsung 980 Pro 1TB SSD with heatsink for just $80 from Best Buy, thereby saving $40 off the regular price of $120. The SSD offers speedy performance while also having its own nickel coated high end controller to help deliver effective thermal control. It means it won't overheat and performance won't be compromised. Being a PCIe Gen 4 SSD, you get twice the data transfer speed of PCIe Gen 3 which is useful. Offering maximum read speeds of 7,000 megabytes per second, it's a good upgrade to go alongside your existing hard drive with 1TB offering plenty of extra space at a shrewd price.

Read more