Two legendary pieces of gaming history are now one. Atari has officially acquired the Intellivision brand along with 200 games from Intellivision Entertainment.
Following this purchase, the company aims to expand the distribution of select digital and physical legacy Intellivision games. Atari also wants to potentially create new games while exploring more diverse brand and licensing opportunities.
Intellivision will continue to develop the Amico games console following its rebrand, while Atari will release new versions of past Intellivision titles on the new hardware when it’s made available. Initially, the Amico was due to release in October 2020, but this fell through due to a lack of funding.
“Uniting Atari and Intellivision after 45 years ends the longest-running console war in history,” said Mike Mika, the studio head of Digital Eclipse.
In the late 70s and early 80s, Atari and Intellivision went head-to-head with consumers. Intellivision released its first home game console in 1979, with the machine selling nearly five million units through 1990.
“This was a very rare opportunity to unite former competitors and bring together fans of Atari, Intellivision and the golden age of gaming,” said Atari CEO and chairman Wade Rosen.
“Atari has been a valuable partner and we have every confidence they will be a responsible steward of the storied Intellivision brand. We look forward to our expanded collaboration and bringing a broad array of new Atari and Intellivision titles to the Amico and Amico Home family gaming platforms,” Intellivision Entertainment CEO Phil Adam added in the official press release.