Long-time game company Atari has become a majority stakeholder in Thunderful Group, acquiring 82% of shares in the SteamWorld IP holder. The deal will be accepted by shareholders on August 28.
In a press release (via Insider Gaming), Atari will use this deal to bolster its reach and development in the European market. Thunderful meanwhile, is known for making acclaimed games be it as the developer or publisher.
“This Transaction marks another important milestone in Atari’s development with the expansion of its publishing and development capabilities in the European region. Thunderful is recognized for publishing and developing critically acclaimed games, and with the announced transformation plan, as well as the quality and commitment of Thunderful’s teams, we are confident that Thunderful will be returning to a profitable growth path while helping to further develop Atari operations in Europe.”
You may remember last year, developer JumpShip was closed down by Thunderful, being deemed redundant, following the release of Somerville and the parent deciding to scale back internal development. This announcement may very much help Thunderful as the company is clearly having some financial woes, with two rounds of layoffs last year.
