On the finish of July, Atari introduced it deliberate to purchase an 82% stake within the Swedish video games firm Thunderful Group, residence to the SteamWorld franchise. Just some days in the past, Thunderful Group’s shareholders accredited the SEK 50 million ($5.3 million) Atari acquisition.
However now that Atari has a controlling stake within the Swedish improvement and publishing group, what precisely is it going to do with it?
Final week, forward of the shareholder vote, GamesIndustry.biz caught up with Atari CEO Wade Rosen at Gamescom to discover out extra about his plans for the newly acquired firm.
First issues first, why Thunderful?
For the reason that starting of Rosen’s tenure as CEO in 2021, Atari has pursued a firmly retro-focused technique, buying remake and remaster specialists Digital Eclipse and Nightdive Studios, in addition to launching the Atari 2600+. On this context, shopping for an indie developer and writer looks like an uncommon transfer.
“I am positive it seems a little bit exterior of what we usually do,” acknowledges Rosen. “Nightdive, Digital Eclipse, the retro technique, these all match actually neatly in a field, and that is fairly apparent.
“I believe with Thunderful, it is a little bit bit totally different than a few of our prior acquisitions, however it’s an organization I’ve recognized for a very long time. I’ve personally been a fan of the SteamWorld franchise for a very long time, I’ve recognized the chief staff over there.”
Rosen explains that when the acquisition alternative got here up, it appeared to match with Atari’s progress technique – in addition to providing some large names on each the event and publishing facet.
“Their third get together publishing has some robust IP – Aska, Viewfinder, Laika, actually good things,” he says. “In order that made it straightforward.”
Then there was the placement. “As an organization, we’re trying to broaden our footprint in Europe,” explains Rosen. “We have now primarily been rising within the US. Our US staff is doing an important job, and we needed to ensure that we additionally – given how essential the European market is for us – have extra boots on the bottom in Europe.”
Though Atari is a French firm with its headquarters in Paris, in actuality most of its operations are based mostly within the States. So Rosen is eager on the thought of getting extra individuals in Europe, making it simpler to meet with European distribution companions. “Sweden will most likely be one of many main hubs that we function,” he says.
He additionally simply likes the video games Thunderful develops. “I, personally – and the staff – was a fan of the brand new Misplaced in Random recreation, The Everlasting Die.” This 2025 spinoff to 2021’s Misplaced in Random was developed by Stormteller Video games, which was beforehand often called Thunderful Gothenberg.
“I believe there is a good improvement studio there, I like how they function,” says Rosen. “They’re the precise dimension.” He notes that Thunderful does so much with smaller groups, which is “the place a lot of the business goes”.
Rosen additionally highlights the power of the UK-based Thunderful subsidiary Coatsink by way of co-development. “Our foremost, core dev groups with each Digital Eclipse and Nightdive have been rising so quickly, and actually need the assist of different gifted engineers,” he says.
General, he thinks, the acquisition “buys us numerous flexibility throughout a number of verticals”.
Retro no extra?
However there’s nonetheless the issue of match. Atari’s technique over the previous few years has been laser-focused on retro – efficiently so. We propose that this buy dangers diluting that technique.
“That is honest,” admits Rosen. However he additionally notes that final 12 months, Atari relaunched Infogrames as a publishing label. “And Infogrames has served as a little bit of an anchor level for issues that fall exterior of the retro-first technique that we’ve.
“So Atari continues to be, , it’s the 2600+ Pac-Man Version, it’s the Mortal Kombat assortment, it’s Outlaws. […] I believe we’re going to preserve laser-focused with that on Atari, and then discover different alternatives on the Infogrames facet to work with manufacturers which are robust and established – Surgeon Simulator, Completely Dependable Supply Service, Bread & Fred, and now SteamWorld, for instance – that hopefully we are able to nonetheless do some cool issues with and breathe some life into.
“So I agree it’s not absolutely retro on the Infogrames facet, however […] we’re not attempting to go for innovative, excessive constancy, photorealistic graphics, proper? It is nonetheless discovering these nice, beloved franchises that deserve extra consideration, that deserve one other shot.
“Like, there wants to be one other Surgeon Sim recreation, proper?”
He provides that for the reason that acquisition announcement, numerous individuals have been reaching out to him to ask about the way forward for the SteamWorld collection, like the potential of SteamWorld Dig 3. “The quantity of people that need a new SteamWorld recreation has […] stunned me,” he says.
However there’s nonetheless the problem of Atari’s plans for Thunderful itself, which has had a torrid time over the previous couple of years, following a interval of speedy growth wherein the Swedish group snapped up firm after firm.
In January 2024, Thunderful introduced a restructuring program that may see it lower round 20% of its workforce, shortly earlier than declaring a full-year lack of $60 million in February 2024.
The group then went on to divest various companies within the first half of 2024, together with Headup, Nordic Sport Provide, and Amo Toys.
In August 2024, Thunderful reported a drop in Q2 web income of 14.5%, then introduced a second wave of restructuring in November, wherein up to 100 workers can be affected.
Given all this, how does Atari intend to flip across the firm? How does it intend to make Thunderful worthwhile?
“It is a robust enterprise mannequin, proper, indie publishing?” acknowledges Rosen. “Even the good firms like Devolver – arguably one of the best at it – aren’t precisely ready the place you’d name them hyper profitable.”
Devolver has seen its share value tumble from highs of round £222 in January 2022 to round £24 right now, and the indie writer has made a number of job cuts at its studios in 2024 and 2025.
“I believe there’s been such a quest from so many firms within the business to get to scale that they mentioned sure to numerous marginally opportunistic issues”
Wade Rosen, Atari
It is a “hyper aggressive business,” Rosen factors out, with a “actually difficult” enterprise mannequin. So one of the best method, he suggests, is to give attention to the “issues that we may be world class at”.
In Thunderful’s case, Rosen thinks it’s a state of affairs “the place we do extra by doing much less”, by “specializing in the very best returning potentialities”.
“I believe you simply have to be very cautious with the photographs you’re taking,” he provides. He clarifies that the “proper time and consideration” will likely be given to the video games on Thunderful’s present launch schedule, “but when we glance to the longer term, you simply gotta be actually selective. You gotta be hyper targeted.
“A single recreation can oftentimes outperform the opposite ten that you’d have mentioned sure to. I believe there’s been such a quest from so many firms within the business to get to scale that they mentioned sure to numerous marginally opportunistic issues.
“You simply cannot do that anymore. All the pieces wants to be one thing that matches with what you are doing, is sensible, and you could do very well, and higher than others.”
He provides that there is numerous overlap within the groups between Thunderful and Atari, “and that may hopefully present extra sources to Thunderful with out them having to scale.”
Talking of which, Thunderful scaled up vastly in the course of the COVID years earlier than starting a means of divestment in 2024. However are there nonetheless cuts to be made? All Rosen will say is to word that Thunderful has made some “fairly giant cuts” already, and is “considerably smaller now” than it was previously.
Bratwurst bonding
From the surface, we recommend that Atari’s buy of Thunderful feels a little bit opportunistic. How precisely did it come about?
Rosen says that he has recognized Thunderful’s soon-to-be-departing CEO, Martin Walfisz, for some time. “I really met him at Gamescom two years in the past,” he says. “I keep in mind as a result of we had lunch in a very superior bratwurst place.”
The pair have stored in contact ever since. “The opportunistic side of it is, when one thing clearly wanted to occur, they did attain out.”
Rosen clarifies that through the years, the 2 firms had been attempting to discover a method to work collectively, however there was by no means the precise alternative. “So it wasn’t like they reached out to me out of the blue.”
Then, when the thought of a purchase order got here up, “my staff checked out it and collectively determined it made sense,” says Rosen.
However now that Thunderful is throughout the fold, is there a plan to rebrand it as an Atari entity, we ask?
“No touch upon that proper now,” says Rosen – though he notes that Atari doesn’t wholly personal Thunderful, and is as an alternative only a majority shareholder.
Wanting forward
Other than Thunderful, what are Atari’s plans for the longer term?
Rosen says there is a large give attention to licensing. “All the pieces from T-shirts, to power drinks, to sneakers, to headphones.”
However other than that, he’s been extraordinarily completely happy with Atari’s {hardware} line-up: the 2600+ and 7800+ specifically. “The ecosystem there’s constructing,” he says, noting there’s been a rise in individuals making video games for the Atari 2600.
He remembers that whereas as soon as Atari video games gathered mud in retro retailers, now there’s an enormous demand for them. He typically goes into retro recreation shops to ask how issues are going. “I do not inform them what I do,” he says.
“I am like, ‘Hey, how are the Atari video games promoting?’ [And they’re like,] ‘Man, this stuff did not promote in any respect, and now persons are cleansing us out of those Atari video games’. Which I like to hear, as a result of it type of exhibits that there is this retro ecosystem creating round it.
“So we’ll proceed to assist that for the foreseeable future. That is an ongoing, evergreen challenge for us.”
Relating to Digital Eclipse and Nightdive, Rosen says there are “a lot extra surprises” to come, with many extra video games to be introduced.
In a latest interview with Edge journal (‘Studio Profile: Digital Eclipse’, problem 413), Stephen Frost, head of manufacturing at Digital Eclipse, mentioned he envisioned his agency working extra intently with Nightdive in future, particularly as the corporate strikes into emulating 3D titles from later platforms.
So is Atari encouraging the 2 firms to pool their sources? And are there even plans to merge them?
There is definitely no plan to merge them, says Rosen. “However they collaborate on a regular basis, and that’s intentional. I imply, we’ve members of every staff becoming a member of the opposite’s calls.
“The Digital Eclipse staff is playtesting Nightdive video games, Nightdive’s playtesting Digital Eclipse video games. The studio heads talk regularly.”
However he says that it’s “actually clear and distinct” which initiatives are greatest suited to which studio, with earlier titles tending to be dealt with by Digital Eclipse, whereas later titles go to Nightdive.
“It is very clear Outlaws is a Nightdive recreation. It is very clear MK is a Digital Eclipse recreation.”
That mentioned, when working with licensees, typically Atari will likely be signing initiatives for each studios on the identical time, he says.
RollerCoaster Tycoon additionally continues to be a juggernaut for Atari. The unique recreation was enormously widespread again within the early 2000s, serving to former Atari proprietor Hasbro to change into the third biggest PC publisher by unit share within the 12 months 2000. However Rosen admits he did not fairly realise simply how enormous a deal it was till he arrived at Atari.
“The largest surprising vibrant spot we have had since I have been right here is the power of that collection,” he says, calling collection creator Chris Sawyer a “genius, a literal savant”.
“He made these video games in meeting, solo,” he says in awe. “I imply, you may virtually run it on a potato, it’s so small. And it is sensible.
“That is why it’s offered so properly. But additionally, the problem of RollerCoaster Tycoon is there’s not many Chris Sawyers on this planet.”
Trade issues
To complete, we ask Rosen about his views on the difficulties going through the general video games business – and the ways in which the business is making an attempt to change into extra sustainable by, for instance, making video games inside a shorter timeframe, doubtlessly with the assistance of AI.
Rosen is fast to say that he’s “not the man to speak to about AI,” noting that he’d choose to “let artistic selections be dealt with at that artistic stage”.
“So I haven’t got a lot to say on the AI entrance. Actually for QA, and testing, and issues like that, it clearly permits you to get some fairly fast suggestions that may enable you iterate and transfer rapidly. However so far as going past that, I haven’t got an excessive amount of to actually go into there.”
Brief improvement cycles, nevertheless, is one thing that Atari is aware of all about. “We have been implementing that for years, actually since I got here on board, due to the character of our video games – they’re oftentimes smaller video games.
“I additionally simply requested myself what I needed. I did not need numerous 80-hour video games. I play, like, a kind of a 12 months.”
“My hope is, with faster dev occasions, smaller groups, we’re additionally prepared to take a couple of extra dangers”
Wade Rosen, Atari
If something, he says, he finds it “deeply presumptuous” to assume a participant would need to spend dozens, maybe a whole bunch of hours taking part in your recreation. For some titles, he suggests, there may be an expectation of a sure size, like Dying Stranding 2 or Closing Fantasy 7 Remake. “However exterior of that, I simply do not really need video games that lengthy.”
He prefers video games that get to the purpose. “We have now a fancy world with advanced issues. Placing out advanced video games the place you’ve got chores, and to-do lists, and issues like that: that is simply not interesting to me.
“So we have been pulling that again and attempting to get down to that core gameplay loop for a very long time, and to give video games that folks can drop into and drop out of, and not have to come again into and be like, ‘What was I doing? The place am I? Oh god, do I’ve to relearn all the things?’
“You possibly can cease taking part in an Atari recreation, choose it up two weeks later, and you are advantageous.”
However other than merely making smaller video games, he thinks shorter improvement occasions may very well be achieved by decreasing the layers of administration and permitting builders to work in smaller groups with larger autonomy.
“I believe having actually giant dev groups – the place you’ve got a number of layers of administration to handle these dev groups – by its nature creates forms, slows velocity and pushes you in the direction of a extra conforming product over the long term.
“So my hope is, with faster dev occasions, smaller groups, we’re additionally prepared to take a couple of extra dangers.”
He notes that after trying across the Gamescom cubicles this 12 months, there was numerous similarity between the titles he noticed. “You could possibly stack them subsequent to one another, and I might be arduous pressed to let you know which recreation was which,” he says. “And that type of was a bummer for me.”
He thinks it’s a flip off for gamers, too. “I simply do not know the way many individuals need all the video games trying this related, and taking part in this related, and feeling this related. That, to me, looks like an even bigger problem than anything that we’re going through proper now.”