Atari’s Eden Games Studio To Close [Updated: Studio To Remain Open]

Update: Atari has provided a quote regarding the matter. Eden Games is not closing at this time.

Our earnings statement contained a report about the divestment of Eden Studios. We want to make it clear that the studio has not closed and that we will continue to support the console and PC games of Eden Studios, notably Test Drive Unlimited 2, while this process is underway. The divestment is in line with our previously stated strategy of exploiting our popular intellectual property library on mobile devices, where he have seen strong initial success, and via online games and licensing.

Original Story:
After a disappointing financial report posting a net loss of $4.78 million for the last fiscal year, Atari have taken the decision to shut down French based studio Eden Games, reports Gamespot. The studio was most well known for their Test Drive Unlimited titles which offered gamers a multiplayer-enabled open-world driving experience. In the year ahead, Atari say that they will instead focus on both digital titles and mobile games, as well as development of their intellectual properties through licencing and partnerships. The last year saw the company revenues fall 34 percent to $51.3 million.

This comes in a long line of recent studio closures from a number of large publishers, namely Blue Tongue (THQ) and Bizarre Creations (Activision) in these tough economic times for game development. Eden Games’ last release Test Drive Unlimited 2 was reviewed well, but took a while to get on its feet due a number of issues which plagued the initial release. The forthcoming DLC including Motorbikes will now likely never see the light of day as the studio is now labeled as ‘discontinued operations”. Previously their 2008 title Alone in the Dark certainly divided critics, though their initial Test Drive Unlimited title was one of the early Xbox 360 titles that showcased a huge open island environment with a number of innovative hooks into the multiplayer world including clubs and user generated tracks. The online aspects of these titles will hopefully be unaffected.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard of troubles between the studio and Atari, as Gamespot reprted in 2011 that Eden Games formed a symbolic protest at potential layoffs, claiming ‘mismanagement’ from Atari.

Source – Gamespot

Featured Image Source – LevelOne