Atari has made some exciting acquisitions over the last few years, including the likes of Digital Eclipse and Nightdive Studios, but it looks like it isn't through yet.
Yesterday, for instance, the company announced it was bringing another company into the Atari family: the emulation-based studio, Implicit Conversions (h/t: Gamesbeat).
Implicit Conversions is a company founded in January 2019 by former Sony engineer Jake Stine and ex-Ubisoft and 2K developer Robin Lavallée, best known for bringing a number of classic games to modern platforms.
Notably, in the past, it has been behind many of the titles brought to PS5 and PS4 as part of PS Plus Premium's range of games, and has also been involved with other retro-related projects like XSeed Games' Milano's Odd Job Collection; Digital Eclipse's Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection and Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition; and Limited Run Games' Fighting Force Collection, Fear Effect and Fear Effect 2, to name just a few titles it has had its hands in.
Wade Rosen, the Atari CEO, said in a statement about the acquisition, accessed via Gamesbeat:
“Implicit Conversions’ ability to work with 32-bit era games using their proprietary Syrup engine complements our existing expertise with 8 and 16-bit era games. Alongside the Bakesale Engine (Digital Eclipse) and the Kex Engine (Nightdive), we now have an enviable suite of proprietary tools, and more engineering talent that will enable us to continue to expand our capabilities across our own catalog as well as the back catalogs of our IP partners.”
Meanwhile, on Twitter/X, Implicit Conversions posted a message welcoming its "new Atari overlords," linking to a statement on its website by Implicit Conversions CEO Bill Litshauer.
In this statement, he confirmed that he and Robin Lavallée will not be going anywhere but will soon take on new roles, with Lavallée becoming studio head and Litshauer switching to head of operations.
It described the experience of working with Atari (through Digital Eclipse) in the past, as like finding their "long-lost cousins," and argued that both companies share the "same passion for classic games." It also teased that it is working on "more titles" to be announced later this year and teased that the move "opens up a ton of new opportunities" for the studio.
As for what else is going to change, it seems not too much, according to a Q&A published by Implicit Conversions, with the company stating it has "not been given any reason to believe that our current commitments will not be fulfilled," it is still "on track" to complete all current projects," and their primary focus will remain on porting PS1 and PS2 games, and setting their eyes to the future with commercial PS3 emulation.
"Atari leadership will be involved in strategic decision-making," the Q&A goes on to state, and will "most likely" be involved in future licensing of the Syrup Engine, but those at the company still expect to retain much of their independence in choosing their own path forward.
You can access the full statement from Implicit Conversions, and the Q&A, here.