The same Atari, Inc that filed for Chapter 11 January of this year has revealed via public documents bidders for the second round of auction for their properties. Actual sale is scheduled this coming June 24, 10 PM EST in NY Bankruptcy Court under Judge James M. Peck.
An earlier attempt to bid last May 22 ended with no offers to buy the company wholesale, so, like THQ, Atari is set to auction its properties piece by piece.
Epic Gear will be bidding on the Backyard Sports franchise, currently being produced by Humongous entertainment. Apparently, Epic Gear is a somewhat obscure videogame peripherals company, makers of the Meduza mouse.
Humongous' assets, which include Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Fatty Bear and Math Gran Prix, may go to Tommo, Inc, publishers for the Jump Super Stars/Ultimate Stars games and the maker of the Neo Geo X.
Total Annihilation may go to Wargaming World Ltd., with possible back up bids from Uber Entertainment. If Wargaming's bid is succesful, it will essentially clear the path for Wargaming's other recent acquisition, Chris Taylor and Gas Powered Games, to once again take control of the classic franchise, which may precisely be what the Belarus-based company has in mind.
Battlezone and Moonbase Commander may go to Rebellion Games Interactive Limited, which publishes games like Lords of the Realm and Ground Control, and is coincidentally also the owner of 2000AD, as well as other comics and book lines.
Master of Orion may also go to Wargaming, with a back up bidder in Stardock Systems, Ltd. I would like to direct attention here to the failed Indiegogo campaign launched by American Southern University to secure its future and use it as an educational title.
Finally, Star Control may go to Stardock Systems, Inc, with a back up bidder in On the Go Technology, LLC. Stardock is most recently known for codeveloping Sins of a Solar Empire with Ironclad Games.
While bankruptcy news is never great news in the industry, it does look like these long dormant franchises might gain a new lease of life if the sale goes through without a hitch. It could also be a much vaunted comeback for Gas Powered Games. We reported that Taylor was hopeful for the PC gaming scene and wanted to come back to Total Annihilation someday. Very soon, he may just be living that dream.
Source: Scribd
