Atari surprised everyone last week with its sudden acquisition of Nightdive Studios (opens in new tab), a developer that revived classic 90s shooters such as "Powerslave" and the upcoming "System Shock" remake. [The news was due to Atari's less than stellar reputation in the modern era, arising from ventures such as Atari VCS (opens in new tab), the inexplicable Atari Hotels (opens in new tab), and the adoption of cryptocurrency and NFT (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab). and was not enthusiastically received by all.

However, Larry Kuperman, director of business development at Nightdive, said in an interview with PC Gamer that such concerns are misplaced." The "new Atari," he says, is "dedicated to the same principles of bringing back classic games and classic-style games that Nightdive has always pursued. And to that end, Night Dive will continue to do the same thing it has always done, virtually independent of Atari.

"We're going to keep moving forward," Kuperman says, noting that in the comments on Twitter, "I'm disappointed that Nightdive won't do this or that." In fact, we had a long list, and we've already done two of the titles mentioned by people who are disappointed that we won't do them. We're already 75% done.

"Last weekend we showed off Rise of the Triad Ludicrous Edition (opens in new tab), a joint project with Apogee and the New Blood team. This is the first time we've done something like this, but obviously there are a lot of companies that are playing in the same space, and we've been working with them for a while now, and we're very excited to be working with them. We have great relationships with those companies and we believe that through our partnership with Atari, we can do more than just do as much as we have done in the past."

Night Dive actually had a relationship with Atari CEO Wade Rosen years before the acquisition; in 2019, Rosen invested in Night Dive in a round of corporate financing, becoming the only outside investor. But according to Kuperman, Rosen has been "100% hands off" since he took over as Atari's head in April 2021.

"There is no doubt that Wade supported what Night Dive has done and will continue to do. There were no radical changes, nothing that wasn't mutually agreed upon."

Atari CEO Rosen acknowledged the sentiments of Night Dive fans in a separate interview with PC Gamer, saying, "When you have a beloved company that's doing really well, it's natural to worry when someone else takes over." He said, however, that Atari does not intend to change what or how Night Dive does business, nor does he intend to direct the company to work exclusively on Atari brands or projects.

"I've known them for a very long time, liked them personally and professionally, and saw them as kindred spirits. Rosen said."

Rosen also mentioned the idea of a "new Atari" focused on a return to "innovative retro game" development. The Atari Hotel project is still active, and the company is also involved in blockchain development, although it withdrew from the Atari token cryptocurrency in April 2022. Atari has also enjoyed success with projects such as the outstanding Atari 50th Anniversary Collection and the recent Akka Arrh, a well-received "modern take on a scrapped project from the 1980s" developed by Jeff Minter's Llamasoft.

Atari's deep involvement in retro gaming is obvious, and the original Atari VCS console was released in 1977, but Rosen said that for this particular niche, it is not enough to simply re-release old games and hope for the best: "This classic and important video game It is about being a good steward and steward of the IP and finding ways to do it in innovative ways. He cited the Atari 50 as a good example of this approach, as it bundles more than 100 games from Atari's history with archival footage and interviews with former employees to create an interactive documentary.

The acquisition of Night Dive is something of an extension of that effort: Rosen said the studio is "working on retro, but doing it in a way that is so innovative it doesn't seem retro. Atari's primary role is to support these efforts by dealing with the more mundane aspects of the business, such as "technical infrastructure issues and staring down contracts."

"I see (Night Dive) as the custodian of many games, in certain industries, especially first-person shooters. 'They've done a better job than anyone else in the world. So to change that or pull them away from that would be crazy. So, if anything, we want to remove everything that doesn't add value from them so they can focus on that."

Kuperman said much the same thing, noting that Atari spent $10 million for Night Dive and could pay another $10 million over the next three years depending on the company's future performance.

"Why would anyone spend that much money to bring down a company? said Kuperman. It's obviously a hefty commitment to allow Night Dive to do more of what it has become famous for."

"Atari's strategy, like Night Dive's strategy, is not to tell you what we're going to do, but to do it. That's how we work. Press releases are great, but Night Dive is judged by the quality of its games. I think the same can be said for the new Atari. We are playing in the very same space of restoring and reviving gems from the golden age of gaming."

Atari's acquisition of Nightdive Studios is expected to be completed by the end of April; Nightdive's System Shock remake (opens in new tab) will be released on May 30.