The company that currently goes by the name of Atari has purchased video game database MobyGames for a cool $1.5 million.
If you’re reading Thumbsticks, you’ve almost certainly visited MobyGames at some point. The beloved online database has long been the go-to resource for video game fans to discover facts and figures about their favourite games.
The site documents games developed as far back as the late 1950s and is acknowledged to be an authoritative information source due to its knowledgeable community of contributors.
Atari entered an agreement with Blue Flame Labs to purchase the site and database late last year and has completed the deal this week.
In a press statement detailing the acquisition, Atari CEO Wade Rosen says:
“The MobyGames community has played a sustained and important role in the documentation, celebration, and preservation of video games, and supporting MobyGames allows us to give back to the community and contribute to its growth and success. It’s important to Atari that MobyGames retains every bit of its integrity, and we’re committed to supporting the site in ways that improve the experience for both contributors and users.”
Jeremiah Freyholtz – who has run MobyGames through Blue Flame Labs since 2013 – adds:
“In Atari, MobyGames has found a partner that will provide the investment and support we need to complete long-planned site improvements. I am confident this transition will allow MobyGames to remain an important community-driven project and that Atari’s involvement best positions us for long-term stability and success.”
The current incarnation of Atari is often the subject of ridicule due to its various licensing agreements, blockchain initiatives, and hardware missteps. Let’s hope the MobyGames acquisition turns out to be for the benefit of the site, its community, and its users.
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