Implicit Conversions Joins the Atari Family

I am thrilled to announce that Implicit Conversions will be joining the Atari family! Alongside Digital Eclipse, Nightdive Studios, and of course Atari’s collection of classic-IP, we’ll be helping to bring even more retro games to modern consoles. And let me tell you: the games coming around the bend are going to be awesome. There are so many new opportunities!

Over the last year, we’ve worked with Atari through Digital Eclipse on the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Collection, Rayman, and more titles that we’ll be announcing later this year. As we described it to them: it was like we found long-lost cousins. We share the same passion for classic games: honouring the original versions, adding historical content/context, and preserving them for the future.  

Atari is an iconic gaming industry brand that transcends generations of gamers with a portfolio of over 200 unique games and franchises. The Atari family of brands includes game developers Digital Eclipse and Nightdive Studios, the publishing label Infogrames, and the community-based sites AtariAge and MobyGames. We feel honored to now be a part of that legacy, and can’t wait to contribute.

We have new opportunities, and already new games in the pipeline which we hope to share with you soon.  

On a final note, Robin and I are not going anywhere, but we’ll be taking on new titles. Robin will become Studio Head, and I will move to Head of Operations. We will be providing additional support to Atari in various capacities, but our main focus will continue to be Implicit Conversions, our community, and bringing amazing retro games to modern consoles!

We’ll have more to share soon™!

-Bill

Q&A

Will ongoing projects be completed?

We have not been given any reason to believe that our current commitments will not be fulfilled.

Are release timelines changing?

As with any acquisition, there is bound to be some growing pains easing into a new setting, but for as far as we can see, we are still on track to completing all current projects in the expected timeframe.

Why Atari?

We believe Atari is a great fit - they share our passion, and this opens up a ton of new opportunities for us. Working extensively with Digital Eclipse on recent projects has also given us a great peak behind the curtain to see how invested Atari is in game preservation and quality, which is very important to us.

Does this mean future projects will be chosen by Atari?

Our relationship with Atari will be highly collaborative and provides us with many resources and opportunities we might not otherwise have had access to. While Atari leadership will be involved in strategic decision-making, we expect to retain much of our independence in choosing our path forward - likely even more so than we’ve had in the past.

Will the focus shift away from PS1/PS2 emulation toward Atari’s own legacy catalog?

One of the main reasons Atari was interested in our company was due to our PlayStation experience and our ongoing work with Waffle. While we will likely expand our repertoire and assist with projects in the broader scope of Atari’s longterm vision, our primary focus remains with continuing to develop for Pancake (PS1), developing Waffle (PS2), and then setting our eyes to the future with Benedict (PS3).

Will the Discord stay the same?

We do not have any plans currently to make changes to our community-facing efforts, communication, or cadence in interactions.

Does this affect developers currently licensing the Syrup Engine?

For any previously signed agreements, probably not. Future agreements will most likely be reviewed and approved through Atari, but it’s unlikely there would be significant changes to the process beyond efficiency improvements.