Overview
Infogrames Entertainment SA, or IESA, was founded in June 1983 in France by
Bruno Bonnell and
Christophe Sapet. The company quickly became the major French developer, with many acquisitions (both developers and distributors) first in Europe, later all over the world, and creating various subsidiary companies. In 1993, Infogrames was introduced to the stock exchange of Paris with great success.
November 1999 is a milestone, when
Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires a controlling stake in the major American publisher
GT Interactive. It is renamed Infogrames, Inc. The US branch fully acquires
Hasbro Interactive, another major player, in January 2001, becoming
Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (In 2008, IESA acquired the remaining shares, turning the then named
Atari, Inc. into a wholly owned subsidiary.)
In May 2003, the company completely re-brands its corporate image and adopts the well-known Atari brand, which came along with the Hasbro acquisition. Hasbro had it acquired from
JTS Corporation, which the
original Atari had merged with in 1996. Infogrames, Inc. becomes Atari, Inc., Infogrames Interactive, Inc. becomes Atari Interactive, Inc., and the European operations are renamed
Atari Europe. The main company holding's name remains
Infogrames Entertainment SA until 2009 - then the board decided to unify the group under the Atari brand and
Infogrames Entertainment SA was renamed
Atari SA.
Next to many collaborations, the company has effectively acquired the following major companies:
Ocean,
Psygnosis,
Gremlin,
GT Interactive,
Hasbro Interactive,
MacSoft (US),
Humongous Entertainment (US),
Accolade (US) and many more.
In February 2006, the company announces to sell the divisions
Shiny Entertainment, Inc. (becomes part of
Foundation 9 Entertainment, Inc.) and
Atari Melbourne House Pty Ltd. (becomes
Krome Studios Melbourne).
During the years, many successful franchises have been published, such as
Alone in the Dark,
Test Drive,
Deer Hunter,
Unreal,
Rollercoaster Tycoon,
Oddworld, and various movie tie-ins.
Aside from games, the company is also known for the children's entertainment software from
Humongous Entertainment (acquired along with
GT Interactive), and
MacSoft, a publisher of Macintosh entertainment software.
Games
Trivia
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