A Fresh Start for “Totally Reliable Delivery Service” Under Atari’s Wing
Totally Reliable Delivery Service. (tinyBuild Image)
So, guess what’s buzzing in the gaming world? Bellevue, Washington’s own tinyBuild has passed the baton for Totally Reliable Delivery Service (Let’s call it TRDS for short) to none other than the legendary French gaming company, Atari. Why, you ask? Well, Atari’s plotting a grand comeback of a legacy brand with TRDS being their ace in the hole.
The Road From Chaos to Classic
Launched with much fanfare by tinyBuild in 2020 for the PC, console, and not forgetting mobile gamers, TRDS is the brainchild of We’re Five Games from Minneapolis. Picture this: a chaotic party game that lets up to four players navigate through utter madness. Fast forward to February 2021, and tinyBuild goes all in by acquiring We’re Five Games. That’s commitment, right?
But here’s where it gets spicy. tinyBuild decided, “Let’s just sell TRDS to Atari but keep We’re Five Games under our wing.” The specifics of the deal? Shrouded in mystery, as neither Atari nor tinyBuild is spilling the beans on the financial nitty-gritty.
Atari’s Gameplan with Infogrames
Now Atari’s grand plan? They’re reanimating the Infogrames name – a name that if you’re a classic PC gaming buff, would send shivers down your spine for all the right reasons. Think back to the heady days of Alone in the Dark, the adventure spree of Outcast in ‘99, not to mention the galactic outpost strategy of Master of Orion III in the early 2000s.
Atari’s head honcho, Wade Rosen, is like a kid in a candy store, giddy to bring Infogrames back from what seemed like obscurity. Their plan? Keep adding more gems to the Infogrames treasure chest, potentially even digging into the vault for those ‘80s and ‘90s classics.
Atari: A Phoenix Rising from Its Ashes
Let’s not beat around the bush. Infogrames never really vanished into thin air. The entity you know as Atari today? It’s the evolved form of the original Infogrames, having weathered the storm through acquisitions, rebrandings, and more than a few financial hiccups. They officially donned the Atari cape back in May 2003.
Flash forward to 2024, and Atari’s the name on everyone’s lips again, thanks to their crowdfunded baby, the Atari VCS console. They’re redefining nostalgia with a Linux twist, bringing classic Atari games back to life, alongside new titles like Lunar Lander: Beyond that keeps the legacy alive.
Adding to their expanding empire, Atari recently welcomed Nightdive Studios into their fold, showing they’re not just about reliving the past but also embracing the new.
Why Infogrames, Why Now?
Atari envisions the Infogrames imprint as a harbor for games that stray from the Atari lineage, aiming to champion game preservation. Picture this as Atari’s way of saying, “There’s more to us than just the classics; prepare for the unexpected.”
In sum, this fairy tale of acquisition and revival is more than just business – it’s a love letter to gaming, nostalgia, and the future of entertainment. Atari’s not just back; they’re here to reimagine what’s possible. So, ready to dive into the chaos and charm of TRDS under its new banner?
