Man, I don’t know what’s going on anymore.
If you’d asked me whether or not the current Atari was in a position to start acquiring studios, I’d legitimately have no answer. But it seems to be the case, as they’ve entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Night Dive Studios.
For those not familiar, Night Dive has gained acclaim not just for their original games, but notably for their remasters of high-profile favorites from the past. Notably, the port of Doom 64, the first two Turok games, The original System Shock and its sequel, and more. Most notably, they’ve recently been at work on a full remake of the first System Shock.
In addition to their acquisition of Night Dive, Atari plans to issue $30 million in bonds convertible into new shares of Atari. The bonds are meant to fund their incoming growth and the refinancing of their debt.
Night Dive’s proven expertise and successful track record in commercializing retro IP is well-aligned with Atari’s strategy and I am confident that their combined talent, technology and IP portfolio will contribute to Atari’s future success.
Wade Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Atari
It can be said that this move puts Atari into position to actually live up to the meaning of their name for the first time in decades. Not only does the acquisition of Night Dive expand their IP catalog, it also allows them to leverage Night Dive’s KEX engine, which has been used by the studio to bring highly polished remasters of older games to modern platforms. As Atari has been focused on a retro-based approach, this vastly expands their possibilities.
Night Dive and Atari have a long history together and we know that Atari shares our passion for retro games and our focus on producing high-quality new and remastered games that do justice to the original IP. As we look to grow our business and expand our capabilities, we could think of no better long-term partner than Atari.
Stephen Kick and Larry Kuperman, principals of Night Dive
The initial purchase will consist of $10 million, half in cash and half in Atari stock. There will also be an additional earn-out of up to $10 million in cash, payable over the next 3 years, dependent on the studio’s performance.
Short of the System Shock remake, there’s no current roadmap for the studio ahead. At least, none that’s public. So it does lead one to wonder what their first announcement under the Atari banner will be.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
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