Atari doubles down on retro, buys beloved Atari homebrew maker
Enlarge (credit: Atari / Benj Edwards)
On Thursday, Atari announced that it will acquire AtariAge, a popular online community for Atari enthusiasts over two decades. AtariAge is best known for selling Atari 2600, 5200, and 7800 console homebrews in high-quality cartridge form, as well as games for the Atari line of computers and other retro systems.
"Atari is now taking its retro-related IP seriously and is creating a wide array of hardware and software based on that IP, while also creating new, original content," wrote AtariAge founder Albert Yarusso in a statement posted on the AtariAge forums.
Yarusso says he will take on a full-time role with Atari and continue to run AtariAge as usual but will have more time to focus on fixing up the site's games database, which he feels needs updating. Still, AtariAge is showing no signs of slowing down on the homebrew front, planning to publish 20 new games on various retro platforms in time for the upcoming Portland Retro Gaming Expo in October.