Atari To Acquire 'SteamWorld' Dev Thunderful

Atari's been doing some wonderful stuff recently. I've got no doubt that this'll be a good thing for Thunderful.

I’m not surprised lost in random eternal dice had weak sales.

I played the original and still was like wtf is going on!

I loved the early stuff from both Image & Form and Zoink, but I haven't been as much into their newer stuff since they joined up. I hope Atari give them the funding they need to remain creative and give them a marketing budget that their games deserve.

I wonder if they will see what Donkey Kong Bananza did and try a 3D Steamworld Dig?

I'm a huge fan of the SteamWorld games and recently started another playthrough of Heist 2. I hate they've been struggling, but hope this helps their overall vision for gaming.

As many others have said, hopefully this leads to the best for Thunderful, especially with how good Atari has been doing lately.

I have to admit that I haven't really played any of the new Atari games since its revival, but I am eager to dive into all the new stuff and Atari 50. I loved the original Steamworld Dig and have played Steamworld Heist for a bit, which is a fun time overall. I hope this move will mean good news for everyone, but I have high hopes.

@Mincey0 I guess you could say you were lost... in random...

There's a mistake in this article, the SteamWorld game that fell "slightly below sales expectations" is Build, not Heist II, as per the link.

Anyway hopefully things will become better for the studio now, they make some really great games. SteamWorld Heist II was excellent and I mean to get The Eternal Die when it goes on sale, the first one was great.

@Pillowpants hahahah nice!👍

@ShieldHero What has Atari done recently? Genuinely asking. Every time I hear about them, it's either a Vaporware Kickstarter Project or a Retro compilation.

„gaming giant Atari“

Well, that‘s almost 30 years ago.

@Max_the_German maybe icon would have been a better term?

@silver-crescent unless I’m mistaken, there is no game called SteamWorld World, SteamWorld is the brand name of the IP which is why each entry has subtitles.

Fingers crossed that Image & Form will remain active. I’ve no idea how well each of their titles have done but I (like many) have only really had an interest in their Dig series. Heist was pretty good, as was quest, but I never see as much chatter for the other titles as Dig (and perhaps Heist) gets, but fair play to them on branching out on the genres anyway.

This is nothing but good news especially for me. I hate Thunderfull for how they squandered Rising Star - which is all but dead ever since Deadly Premonition 2; a game I will stress I thought was fantastic amd much better than either No More Heroes revival.

Now under Wade the Retro nerd all that nonsense about trying to make live service indie games will be tossed out the window for what the people TRULY need: Bubsy vs Meatboy.

Even better; I'll finally get a fully itemized list of what IP Thunderfull actually held onto in the divorce form Headup.

@Sonicka I meant Build (SteamWorld Build is the game mentioned in the link, not SteamWorld Heist II), just edited my post!

Good news, compared to closing down anyway. Through the developers on their books, Thunderful have released some great games, particularly in the earlier years, though a few more duds in recent times.

The new Atari haven't done everything right, but a lot has been good so far, and I expect this'll be an overall positive move.

@TerribleTerabytes What rock have you been under for the past 5 years? Every other week now Atari's in the news for some great revival or better-than-it-has-right-to-be remaster. Gold Masters series, Yars Rising, Lunar Lander Beyond. Infogrames is bringing back Totally Reliable Delivery service, and Intellivision is free from the incompetence that is Tommy Tallerinco.

We're even getting brand new 7800 cartridges as the one good thing the Plaion side of Embracer is doing.

Atari is what big publisher should be doing when acquiring studios, not the same mass studio acquistion that Microsoft and Embracer are doing. They don't just throw money at studios to get rights to game nonstop and then fired people if the game failed to sell or if they game is successful. Microsoft and Embracer should had never gotten into the gaming business since both don't know how to run game offerings or embrace the studios they bought. Doingwhat Atari is doing by slowly building their company back to square one and acquiring studios that will benefit them is a great start to them becoming relevant again.

Whoa, cool news.

@Sonicka

I’ve played a few of their games. They are excellent. Personally I’d say that Heist is a higher tier series than Dig - it’s more original and distinctive whereas Dig is just a really well executed game in a genre that was open at the time but is now over exposed.

Dig has the advantages that it came first and action games generally have more mainstream appeal.

I would say their desire to explore different genres might have been their undoing a bit. The Heist series in particular could have carved out a more dedicated niche audience had they focused on making regular iterative sequels. I think there’s still a lot of untapped territory to explore in the Heist series game systems.

As it stands they’ve been almost starting from scratch building an audience for every Steamworld project.

@Max_the_German more like 40-45 years ago (time flies for retro folk) 😃

SteamWorld Dig 3, where are you?

@sikthvash Yeah, 40-50 years. From 1983, things went down, and today „Atari“ is just a better known name for what was Infogrames.

This day and age, I'm weary of any time a big publisher acquires smaller companies. Microsoft, Embracer, and EA have conditioned me to view acquisitions as a prolonged death sentence, but hopefully Atari will actually give them the respect they deserve. I enjoyed most of the SteamWorld games; I hope that this gives Thunderful the stability they need to thrive.

Like i said before,this isn't actually Atari,its a compani formely called Infogrames(someone might remember them 'cause they made Looney Tunes games,in the mid-90s/early 2000s).They bought Atari,closed it,and took its name.

@silver-crescent ahh fair fair, I thought maybe I missed a game announcement at first 🤣

I'd much rather Atari acquire Thunderful over Microsoft or (shudders) Embracer. I quite enjoy the SteamWorld universe, though I'll admit their most recent release I've played is SteamWorld Dig 2 since I enjoy Metroidvanias so much. And I have tried the SteamWorld Build PC demo. I typically wait for the games to come down in price since they go on sale every so often. Nearly jumped on SteamWorld Quest for Switch recently until I saw it's been lower before.

I understand wanting to try new things, but people have been begging Thunderful for a real Steamworld Dig sequel for years and they seem dead set on giving us anything but. If they really want to "improve operative cash flow", perhaps they should try listen to their fans and give them what they've been clamoring for.

golf clap

Well done, Atari. Fine choice. Good dev, good games.

I just picked up Heist 2 on a very strong sale. While I did enjoy the first game, the sequel price was just way too high to pull the trigger on at launch for me. Now if it was Dig 3, that would have been a different story and would have been a day one purchase for me.

Good on Atari for picking them up. I'm glad to not see Image & Form go under. Atari has been putting out some good stuff lately, and hopefully this will only strengthen their brand.

Poor Steamworld. They were on fire with the first four titles, and then some missteps led to a hiatus of interest in the franchise. I feel like Steamworld Heist 2 was too late, and kind of carries some baggage from titles released since Dig 2.

Maybe I’m just someone who feels like I “understand the games” better than Thunderful, but I can say that’s why I fell off

It's a shame it came to this, but at least Atari isn't the worst company they could have gone with. Then again, I was saying the same thing about some of Microsoft's aquisitions a while back, so I guess we'll have to see if it works out for Thunderful.

Those guys do amazing acquisitions

I love Thunderful Games, but their attempt to make a Steamworld Universe has been a big miss for me. Steamworld Dig 3 should already have released. Steamworld Dig and Steamworld Dig 2 are the reason we like the developer and that world. I understand a few forays into spin-off territory but you absolutely have to get back to the mainline game. Still hoping we get a Steamworld Dig 3 announcement soon, maybe even at the next Direct.

@Zeebor15 so, have they done anything new?

Don't really know if I can ever trust Atari again after their clown behavior in the 2000s including rushing and shoving a completely unnecessary multiplayer mode into Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, one of the best games ever.

@gabrigoes Kombernina, Mr. Run and Jump, and Bread and Fred, Dayz of Ruin, and for all intents and purposes Adventure of Samasara are all new IP brought about by Wade's administration

@Serpenterror @Tyranexx @Giberaltor Now hold on: yes Microsoft are greedy idiots, but Embracer never bought a studio or company unless there was an immediate plan for how best to use them. There was always a plan; it's just not even the best plans can account for Randy: who has been named by multiple sources as the primary reason that one investment deal fell through and caused to get dragged through the mud. As I've been saying, Microsoft would have just immediately shut down entire branches in such a situation, but Embracer at least took the time to make sure as many people as possible who did go landed on their feet.

This Atari is far from the giant it was in the 70s and 80s. We mustn't forget that it's the French company "Infogrames," which, when it acquired all the rights to Atari's ashes, renamed itself Atari.
And more than a decade ago, it was bankrupt, but it managed to recover. Judging by some comments, it seems they're already improving, and I hope so, especially for the sake of having bought this developer.

If that keeps them in business and development that's not bad news. Obviously independent would be better but Atari have been doing well. Steam World Dig 3 please!

I'm hit and miss on Atari, Roller Coaster Tycoon has been going downhill, I got the classic version and it's great of controls but fair restructuring of the game's park order.

3 is a eh conversion of controls it put me off.

Their own IPs are alright with the Beyond revival games, or Yars Rising, Atari 50 was good but then they just kept going and going and it kind of put me off.

To me Steam World Heist 2 disappointed, the class system just didn't appeal to me, the missions were alright, the weapons and more. The restrictions of locations. The ship didn't disappoint me as much as I thought it would.

Preferred Steam World Heist 1 more besides it's limits in comparison.

Thunderful publishing has been fair of what they have offered. I haven't experienced them much but they seem good on the outside looking at them.

But some games have been hit and miss.

Atari could mess with things and I don't want to see that.

Go Atari! Let’s also see more Atari 50 DLC like the Activision classics pack and the Intellivision pack too! And KEEP THOSE NEW 7800 CARTS COMING! SO AWESOME! 😎

Cue up Anthill Recharged.

@Zeebor15 Why the hostility for @TerribleTerabytes ?

@Thomystic Because I was legitimatly confused how someone who comes to this website has missed the 5 year Renisance of Wade Rosen saving not only Atari, but showing that there IS some good in Western game publishing. What once "killed" game development in America will be the only one left to save it from itself.

@Thomystic I appreciate the concern but honestly, I think it's on me for my comment sounding condescending. I can see how someone can read it and assume that I'm dogging on Atari because I only bring up the more negative things. It wasn't my intent, but I think I could've worded myself better lol.

@Zeebor15 Honestly, I just didn't pay attention to Atari. I only assumed they were a graveyard of Retro rereleases, so I always write them off. I had no idea they were doing more than just that. Which I guess is on me. But I'll be sure to do so going forward.

@TerribleTerabytes Thank Wade

@Zeebor15 thanks! Apart from Bread & Fred, I hadn't heard of those others. I'll take a look at them.

@Zeebor15 Does Thunderful own Meatboy? Figured it was with the original devs. Unrelated, but I just bought all the Steamworld games, both Islanders games, and both Lost in Random games since they were on sale.

So far, played and beat Steamworld Dig and Dig 2 and currently playing Quest. Have been having a blast. Will double dip for physicals!

@Zeta Recent investigations show that I was mistaken on my timeline: Headup took Meatboy in the divorce.

@Zeebor15 Surprised Team Meat doesn't own the IP rights

@Zeta Team Meat's existence is... weird now.