World of Tanks Dev Bids on Auctioned Atari Assets

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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World of Tanks Dev Bids on Auctioned Atari Assets



Bids on Atari properties have been made by Wargaming World Limited, Stardock Systems and Rebellion Interactive, among others.

With one gaming related bankruptcy case <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126056-THQ-Bankruptcy-Case-Ends>having just closed, another is moving forward. Atari, once the company that arguably sired the modern gaming industry, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121617-Atari-Inc-Files-for-Bankruptcy>filed for bankruptcy in January and has now sadly begun the process of selling off its assets <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124283-Atari-Assets-Go-Under-Hammer-In-July-Auction>via auction. It's a turn of events that has seen some shedding tears for the declined giant while others have taken steps to prepare for a changing of the guard as franchise rights switch hands, something that already appears to be happening.

Information regarding the current auction would point to successful bids by companies including Wargaming World Limited, Rebellion Interactive and Stardock Systems, on several assets. Perhaps most notably, Wargaming, the studio behind the popular free-to-play title World of Tanks, has made offers on the rights to the stategy classics Total Annihilation and Master of Orion. Sins of a Solar Empire developer Stardock has likewise placed a bid on the Star Control franchise. Rebellion in turn made an offer on Battlezone with other properties receiving bids from a several other companies. In addition to the ongoing auction, Nordic Games, which picked up several franchises in the wake of THQ's collapse, also recently bought the rights to the games Desparados and Silver.

While the Atari bankruptcy case is unfortunate on its own, perhaps the most distressing part of the process is the uncertainty currently surrounding the company and its affiliates. GOG, for instance, unsure if it would still have access to them in the future, recently <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125932-GOG-Launches-Atari-Sale-as-Developers-IPs-Near-Auction>held a sale on all of its Atari-licensed products. Likewise, while talks to resolve the issue are still ongoing, Atari's recent <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125404-Atari-Behind-Baldurs-Gate-Legal-Issues>dispute with Beamdog, the studio behind the Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, has left the developer and its plans hanging in legal limbo.

Source: <a href=http://www.scribd.com/doc/154934708/In-re-Atari-Inc-NOTICE-OF-SUCCESSFUL-AND-BACK-UP-BIDDERS-WITH-RESPECT-TO-THE-AUCTIONS-OF-CERTAIN-OF-THE-DEBTORS%E2%80%99-ASSETS126013701588>Scrib via <a href=http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/07/21/atari-auctioning-off-assets-to-wargaming-and-stardock-entertainment.aspx>Game Informer


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Kevo32A

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Jun 2, 2011
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This isn't the atari that created all the original atari stuff the name is known for though is it. The name has been bought and sold a bunch of times since those guys. I think the current owner of the name made mmos in south east Asia and bought the name or something.

Thats off the top of the my head, something I read somewhere. Dont rememeber where.
 

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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Kevo32A said:
This isn't the atari that created all the original atari stuff the name is known for though is it. The name has been bought and sold a bunch of times since those guys. I think the current owner of the name made mmos in south east Asia and bought the name or something.

Thats off the top of the my head, something I read somewhere. Dont rememeber where.
I believe you're right that the company has changed hands over the years. Still, kind of sad to see such an important brand in the history of the medium drop to such lows.
 

Andrew_C

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Mar 1, 2011
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I'm vaguely surprised Frontier Developments hasn't bid on the RollerCoaster Tycoon games seeing as they are hoping to be flush with cash from an IPO which they are using Elite:Dangerous to launch. I'm rather cheesed about that BTW, as I KickStarted Elite:Dangerous because my machine can't handle Star Citizen, not to further David Braben's delusions of grandeur.

Also, the present Atari is actually the former Infogrames (remember them). They bought Hasbro's video game properties, including Atari and (and the Atari tardemark from someone else) and rebranded themselves. The bit going bankrupt is a wholly owned subsidiary, although as it includes all the video game stuff Atari SA (the parent company) will basically be in charge of nothing, an empty shell company.

It appears their major corporate strategy has been selling of potentially profitable franchises and subsidiaries. Unsurprisingly this wasn't sustainable.

EDIT some major and minor corrections
 

Strazdas

Robots will replace your job
May 28, 2011
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i cant imagine what would they want to do with it. as a company, its kind of dead, as a brand name, World of Tanks is a bigger and more well known than Atari in current market.
 

Dr.Awkward

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Mar 27, 2013
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Strazdas said:
i cant imagine what would they want to do with it. as a company, its kind of dead, as a brand name, World of Tanks is a bigger and more well known than Atari in current market.
I think a F2P Master of Orion is the obvious result if Wargaming does get the IP...
 

Antari

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Nov 4, 2009
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Stardock looks like its doing business as usual. Trying to ressurect Star Control after its 3rd installment will likely break them. Public domain has already redone Starcon2. Unless they plan on doing an update, they are likely to loose money on the deal.