US manufacturer Atari will look to change up its business strategy with more of a focus on premium console and PC games.
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As confirmed by CEO Wade J. Rosen (via GamesIndustry.biz), the original Pac-Man developer is moving away from the free-to-play and mobile market as it has become too competitive of a market.
A number of Atari’s free-to-play titles will be shut down or sold off on a case by case basis. The games included in this are RollerCoaster Tycoon Story, Castles & Catapults, Atari Combat: Tank Fury and Ninja Golf. That said, the company will continue to operate certain other mobile games that it deems successful.
“Our intent with any gaming experience is to provide accessible and joyful moments of meaningful play,” said Rosen in a statement.
“That’s the core of Atari and what binds our history with our future. To that end, we feel that premium gaming is better representative of this type of gaming experience and the Atari DNA.”
The company will also pull out of the casino business with Atari Casino in Africa being discontinued. The funds will instead go towards moving into the TV space.
Atari recently launched its new Atari VCS – a modern take on the classic 1977 games console.
While Atari might not be as keen as it once was on free-to-play titles, developer Niantic has the most of it with Pokémon GO earning £3.6 billion ($5 billion) in revenue since originally launching in July 2016.
In other news Nintendo has announced a brand new 7-inch OLED screen version of its popular Nintendo Switch console.
Whilst not the recently rumoured Switch Pro, the new version of the console boasts 64GB of storage, and releases in October this year.
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