Atari SA
Atari SA ), also known as Atari Group, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns mainly video gaming-related interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA's core subsidiaries include the publisher and marketer Atari, Inc., developers Nightdive Studios and Digital Eclipse, and publisher Infogrames. It also has a blockchain division, Atari X, and additionally owns the websites MobyGames and AtariAge. Through these divisions, the company owns the rights to many video game properties that originated from Accolade, Atari, Inc., Atari Corporation, GT Interactive, Ocean Software, M Network via Intellivision and others. It is the sole owner of the Atari brand since 2001, through its subsidiary Atari Interactive Inc. which licenses the brand to other entities in the group.
Infogrames published numerous video games during the 1990s and eventually became one of the largest video game companies in the world through an acquisition policy. However, later, as Atari SA, it dealt with continuing pressures and difficulty finding investors which led to the company seeking bankruptcy protection under French law in January 2013 while subsidiaries in the United States sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as well.
Since 2023, the company has seen a turnaround with a new focus on retro gaming, acquiring and re-releasing older titles and acquisition of developers and publishers in this area; it also abandoned its cryptocurrency, casino, and mobile gaming divisions, which the company had focused on during previous leadership.
History
Early history (1983–1996)
The company was founded by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet. They wanted to christen the company Zboub Système, but were dissuaded by their legal counsel. According to Bonnell in a TV interview, they then used a mix-and-match computer program to suggest other names, one of which was "Infogramme": a portmanteau of the French words "informatique" and "programme". The final choice, Infogrames, was a slightly modified version of that suggestion.The company logo and mascot is an armadillo, chosen when the company was moved to Villeurbanne. Bonnell commented: "This dinosaur is our symbol. The armadillo has always survived changes to its environment, from the melting of glaciers to the worst of heat waves."
In the late 1980s, Infogrames was noted for its French computer games that often featured original game ideas and occasionally humorous content. They had acquired several licences for popular Franco-Belgian comics.
In 1987, Infogrames extended to the growing Multimedia market by founding Infogrames Multimedia, which would later develop and publish CD-ROM based games and software. In the same year, they formed an interactive videotex division, Infogrames Télématique.
In 1992, they released Alone in the Dark, a 3D horror adventure game, to international attention.
By 1995, Infogrames was held by many shareholders, including a 20% stake from Pathé Interactive and 3.3% by Productions Marcel Dassault. By August, Phillips Media acquired Chargeurs' stake in Pathé Interactive, which led to the 20% shareholding stake of the company transferring fully over to Phillips.
Growth through acquisition (1996–2000)
In 1996, Infogrames embarked on an acquisition campaign that would last seven years and cost more than $500 million; the objective was to become the world's leading interactive entertainment publisher. While the company's debt increased from $55 million in 1999 to $493 million in 2002, the company's revenue also increased from $246 million to $650 million during the same period.In July 1996, the company announced that it would purchase the British-based holding company Ocean International Ltd. for $100 million, beginning Infogrames' status as a major publisher. Ocean International consisted of British developer and publisher Ocean Software and its North American division Ocean of America. After the deal was closed, Ocean became a standalone subsidiary of Infogrames and continued releasing its own titles distant from those of Infogrames. Both Ocean subsidiaries soon became the official distributors for Infogrames in both territories.
In 1997, Infogrames Télématique launched Oceanline, a website that would offer simplified online versions of Infogrames titles. On 3 February, Infogrames announced that they would purchase the French division of Phillips Media BV for 191.5 million F with the deal closing on 9 June. Phillips Media France, in addition to holding a 20% shareholding stake in Infogrames, also owned the distributors Ecudis, Leisuresoft, Bomico Entertainment Software, and German publisher Laguna Video Games. Leisuresoft was however not included in the sale, and was shuttered following the purchase.
On 30 January 1998, Infogrames signed a licensing deal with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to publish and develop five titles based on the Looney Tunes franchise. On 8 February, Infogrames rebranded its subsidiaries under its own banner, with Ocean Software becoming Infogrames United Kingdom, Ocean of America becoming Infogrames Entertainment, Inc. and Bomico Entertainment Software becoming Infogrames Deutschland. On the same day, the company announced a two-year distribution deal with Canal+ Multimedia to distribute the company's titles in the UK, France and Germany. Later on in the year the company purchased the distributors ABS Multimedia, Arcadia, and the Swiss Gamecity GmbH and ending the year off with the purchase of a 62.5% in Australian game distributor Ozisoft, following its then-recent relinquishment from Sega.
On 10 February 1999, Infogrames extended its partnership with Canal+ Multimedia by purchasing a 50% stake in the publisher, with the intentions to invest 50 million F into creating titles based on Canal+'s licenses. Infogrames made major purchases for 1999, beginning in March with the purchase of the Gremlin Group for $40 million in March, who owned developers Gremlin Interactive and DMA Design, with Gremlin rebranding as Infogrames Sheffield House. On 5 April, Psygnosis' Paris development studio was purchased. The company's first major purchase of the year came on 20 April, with the purchase of publisher Accolade for $60 million in order to gain a major North American distribution network. Accolade was rebranded as Infogrames North America, with the company's former North American distribution arm being folded into it. On 24 June, the company extended its Looney Tunes licensing deal with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for five years, with a maximum of twenty titles. Later on in the year, the company purchased the video game division of the Australian-based Beam Software, and rebranded it as Infogrames Melbourne House. On 29 September, Take-Two Interactive purchased DMA Design from Infogrames for and transitioned it over to their Rockstar Games subsidiary, soon becoming Rockstar North.
In December 1999, Infogrames made their then-largest purchase with the acquisition of a 70% stake in publisher GT Interactive Software for $135 million, and assumed GT's $75 million bank debt. IESA justified the purchase by stating that GT Interactive provided Infogrames with a "distribution network for all of its products in the United States, as well as a catalog of products that includes Driver, Duke Nukem, Oddworld, Unreal Tournament and Deer Hunter. The deal also included the developers SingleTrac, Humongous Entertainment, Cavedog Entertainment, WizardWorks, MacSoft, Legend Entertainment and Reflections Interactive.
Infogrames began the new millennium of 2000 with a new identity and branding, while in February GT closed down Cavedog Entertainment as part of its restructuring. In June, The company invested another $30 million in GT Interactive, and renamed the publisher as Infogrames, Inc. On 30 June, Infogrames purchased developer Paradigm Entertainment for $19.5 million and placed them within Infogrames, Inc. operations. and soon afterwards purchased in-flight games developer Den-o-Tech Int. for $5.6 million, renaming them as Infogrames DTI. Infogrames was also one of the interested companies in purchasing Eidos Interactive.
On 6 December 2000, board game manufacturer Hasbro announced that they would sell their struggling Hasbro Interactive division to Infogrames for $100 million, $95 million as 4.5 million common shares of Infogrames and $5 million in cash. The deal included all of Hasbro Interactive's product library, the Atari and MicroProse brands and titles such as Civilization, Falcon, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Centipede, Missile Command, and Pong, MicroProse's owned developers, the Games.com web portal, third-party video game licenses including Thomas the Tank Engine, Family Feud and various Namco properties, as well as a fifteen-year licensing deal to develop and publish titles based on Hasbro IP such as Dungeons & Dragons, Monopoly, Mr. Potato Head and My Little Pony, with an option for an additional 5 years based on performance. The deal did not include Avalon Hill, which was retained by Hasbro. The deal was closed on 29 January 2001, and Hasbro Interactive was rebranded as Infogrames Interactive, Inc.
On 2 October 2001, Infogrames announced that they would reinvent the Atari brand as a second major publishing label with the launch of three new games featuring prominent Atari branding on their boxarts: Splashdown, MX Rider and TransWorld Surf. Infogrames titles released under the Atari brand would focus within a core 18-34-year-old male audience, while children's and casual games would retain the Infogrames banner.
In April 2002, the company's Japanese division Infogrames Japan K.K. signed a Japanese distribution deal with Konami for select titles and soon relaunched the Atari brand in the country with the publication of Splashdown, TransWorld Surf and V-Rally 3 in the region. On 25 April, Infogrames purchased Shiny Entertainment from the struggling Interplay Entertainment for $47 million, alongside the exclusive publishing rights to publish games based on The Matrix. On 28 August, Infogrames purchased the remaining shares in OziSoft for $3.7 million and rebranded the distributor as Infogrames Australia and Infogrames New Zealand. On 12 September 2002, Infogrames announced the closure of MicroProse's UK studio, then named Infogrames Chippenham. On 2 October, the company closed Infogrames Lyon House. and on 22 October, had acquired the remaining 80% of Eden Studios for $4.1 million,. In the fiscal year of 2002, IESA had a net loss of $67 million on revenues of $650 million, and in 2003 the net losses increased to $89 million.
On 30 January 2003, Infogrames sold their Mac publishing division MacSoft to Destineer. On 1 May, the company shuttered the Infogrames Sheffield House development studio.