“Atari intends to shift its video game portfolio to premium games for consoles and PC. While the competitive and marketing environment is weighing on the free-to-play business model, five free-to-play games will be discontinued or sold,” stated the company.
As of July 1, Atari's board of directors voted to refocus "resources on the market for premium games with higher added value [...] after conducting an in-depth review of the assets and opportunities of the Atari Gaming division." What this means for certain is that Atari's cryptocurrency-based online gambling site, Atari Casino, will cease operation.
The company made a slew of announcements last year that didn’t have a whole lot to do with gaming. The first was a brand new Atari hotel chain that was going to break ground all across America. Billed as a gamer’s paradise, the hotels would serve as entertainment centers complete with VR arcades.
The first Atari Hotel was supposed to be based in Las Vegas, where it was certain to have a ground-floor casino like every other hotel in Vegas. On top of that, the company also announced an online casino where gamblers could use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Now it seems plans for both have been canceled.
”Our intent with any gaming experience is to provide accessible and joyful moments of meaningful play. That’s the core of Atari and what binds our history with our future,” said Atari CEO Wade J. Rosen in a prepared statement.
“To that end, we feel that premium gaming is better representative of this type of gaming experience and the Atari DNA. Despite this new focus on premium gaming, we remain committed to growing and expanding our successful free-to-play games that we have in the market," Rosen added.
Source: The Gamer
