Stumbling veteran game company Atari is acquiring Night Dive Studios, which is responsible for the upcoming remake of "System Shock" and the renovation of retro games such as "Turok," "Shadow Man," and "Powerslave". The acquisition will cost $10 million (half of which will be paid in Atari stock) and is expected to close by the end of April.

It is not surprising that Night Dive would want to sell to a larger, wealthier company. What is surprising is that it did not sell to Embracer Group, which has been making efforts to acquire Double A studios around the world. After all, Atari's recent ventures have not exactly enthused consumers. The Atari VCS console was a mess, and the NFT side project was depressing. Nevertheless, there is one area that deserves credit: Llamasoft's recent games from Atari have been excellent.

Still, the lack of goodwill notwithstanding, it makes sense for Atari to bring Night Dive in-house, at least for the company's focus on retro-oriented titles. Atari CEO Wade Rosen said in a statement: "Night Dive's proven expertise and track record of success in commercializing retro IP fits well with Atari's strategy, and we are confident that the combination of their talent, technology, and IP portfolio will contribute to Atari's future success. I am confident that the combination of their talents, technology and IP portfolio will contribute to Atari's future success.

Night Dive heads Steven Kick and Larry Kuperman expressed this enthusiasm in their own prepared statement, of course, but when Night Dive's official Twitter account tweeted the news, the reaction wavered between condemnation and sadness. Still, they could have funded a patch for Brad. Steven Kick tweeted (open in new tab), "I sold Night Dive to patch Brad."

In addition to the $10 million mentioned above, Night Dive stands to get another $10 million over the next three years "depending on future performance." For reference, Embracer Group is acquiring Tarsier Studios (Little Nightmares) in 2019 for just $500,000 more; System Shock will be released on May 30 and published by Prime Matter.