Atari’s gaming division has hatched a plan to focus on higher-quality experiences after spending most of its time producing free-to-play games for mobile devices. The iconic brand confirmed the pivot in a press release published yesterday, which confirmed Atari’s intention to develop premium games for consoles and the PC platform. Atari’s first premium titles are already in development and slated for release in the financial year 2021/22. In the meantime, Atari is discontinuing or selling five of its free-to-play games: RollerCoaster Tycoon Story, Crystal Castles, Castles & Catapults, Ninja Golf, and Atari Combat: Tank Fury.
“Our intent with any gaming experience is to provide accessible and joyful moments of meaningful play. That’s the core of Atari and what binds our history with our future. To that end, we feel that premium gaming is better representative of this type of gaming experience and the Atari DNA. Despite this new focus on premium gaming, we remain committed to growing and expanding our successful free-to-play games that we have in the market.” – Atari CEO Wade J. Rosen