We left Infogrames in 2009, when the company definitively adopted Atari SA as the official name. The end of an era which led the summit company to deep financial difficulties, leading to the cessation of payments in France. But now Atari decides to relaunch the brand in the form of a publishing label.
Who would’ve believed that ? Infogrames, whose games rocked, sometimes with energy, the young years of many players, will be reborn from its ashes. Dismantled and after seeing its American subsidiaries absorbed by Atari, Infogrames had disappeared from circulation.
From Alone in the Dark to The Smurfs, including Spirou, Astérix, V-Rally and even Driver and Tintin in Tibet, Infograme left its mark on French and then global video games, from the 1980s to the very beginning of the 1990s.
Atari relaunches Infogrames and its legendary armadillo
It was last night, in a discreet press release, that Atari announced the return of Infogrames. Through CEO Wade Rose, we learn that the brand will make its return in the form of a publishing label intended to publish everything that does not fall directly into the fold of the Atari brand. “ For decades, Infogrames has built its reputation by publishing incredible and eclectic games », underlines the boss of Atari. “ We are delighted to bring her back “. The first feat of Infogrames in its new form is the acquisition of Totally Reliable Delivery Service (2019), the license and related intellectual properties, from tinyBuild.
“ With Totally Reliable Delivery Service, Infogrames starts with a strong license benefiting from a community of loyal and enthusiastic players”, assures Geoffroy Châteauvieux, head of Infogrames. “The Infogrames team will be able to build on the fantastic work of tinyBuild and revitalize this franchise with great potential”. Atari also specifies that Infogrames will remain faithful to the parent company’s approach by considering the preservation of games as ” a central element of its mission “.
Infograms: a rich legacy and a difficult ending
Founded in France in 1983 near Lyon, Infogrames first distinguished itself by the development and publishing of micro (Thomson, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, etc.) and PC games. The company then diversified into consoles in the 90s and notably contributed to the birth of the genre.survival horror” by developing and publishing the first Alone in the Dark in 1992, a game which recently received a remake of sorts.
The end of the 90s was an important period of acquisitions for Infogrames, which acquired Ocean, Gremlin Interactive, DMA Design (which would become Rockstar Games under the aegis of Take-Two), Accolade, Beam Software, GT Interactive, Hasbro Interactive, MicroProse and even Atari fell into his hands. Purchases which ended up putting Infogrammes in great difficulty. In 2003, Infogrames underwent a transformation and associated its name with the Atari brand, the aim being to reach the American market, more sensitive to the Atari brand, and thus reduce the group’s abysmal debt. Finally, in 2009, Infogrames fully became Atari. Bruno Bonnell had left the ship two years ago, and it was not until 2013 that Atari officially emerged from bankruptcy.
Source : Atari
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