Atari to buy Steamworld indie publisher Thunderful for $5.2 million

Atari has purchased Thunderful Group, an indie publisher and co-developer of games like Steamworld Dig and Planet of Lana.

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Classic gaming brand Atari expands its footprint in the modern games industry with its latest acquisition, the Swedish games developer, publisher, and distributor Thunderful Group.

Atari purchased majority shares in the company for 4.5 million euros (about $5.2 million). Per the press release, Thunderful is "specialized in game development, third‑party publishing, and co-development services for PC and console platforms. Thunderful encompasses a global games publishing business, five game studios with various creative and technological expertise, and a services business. The Company owns a portfolio of over 20 intellectual properties including SteamWorld, ISLANDERS, Lost in Random, and Vampire's Fall, notably."

Prior to the announcement, Thunderful started going through restructuring, leading to layoffs of key personnel. Thunderful's plan was to move away from first-party games development and instead double-down on assisting with third-party games. Thunderful says it expects to save up to $9.3 million per year with this new plan.

Atari CEO Wade Rosen says Thunderful will help globalize the modern brand, which includes re-releases of Atari consoles and games.

"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."