Out of the blue, Atari has announced that it's acquired the rights to five Ubisoft games this week, and they're all set to be re-released with the intent of expanding their reach, meaning we're very likely going to see new Xbox releases for them!
The five games are as follows:
- Cold Fear (2005)
- Child of Eden (2011)
- I Am Alive (2012)
- Grow Home (2015)
- Grow Up (2016)
The vast majority of these have appeared on Xbox before, starting with Cold Fear back on the original Xbox. However, Grow Home never actually received an Xbox release in 2015, so we'll hopefully be getting that one for the first time.
What's particularly weird about this, however, is that three of the games on this list are currently available to purchase on the Xbox Store under the Ubisoft name. I Am Alive, Child of Eden and Grow Up have yet to be delisted, but today's announcement suggests they will be - as Atari wants to "re-release these titles under their publishing label".
Atari will re-release these titles under their publishing label and explore opportunities to expand their reach through updated formats, new content, and extended distribution channels.
Atari CEO: “Ubisoft and Atari both have a legacy of crafting worlds that players can fall in love with — games that resonate with generations of players not just for how they played, but for how they made us feel. We’re excited to reintroduce these titles while also exploring ways to expand and evolve these franchises.”
In other words, keep an eye out for some potential delistings of the Ubisoft versions in the near future, and here's hoping we're going to see an Xbox debut for Grow Home and Cold Fear on a modern Xbox console for the first time ever!
We'll leave you with a couple of videos for Cold Fear and I Am Alive below, and we'll keep an eye out to see what happens with these five newly-acquired Atari titles.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know down in the comments section below.
[source businesswire.com]
Comments 26
I remember I Am Alive had a lot of hype and potential in it and sort of disappeared before releasing to a collective shrug.
Cold Fear is huge. I Am Alive is also shocking.. I better buy that 360 edition now, then.
Grow Up was a very fun, relaxing game. Absolutely worth a look.
Always wanted to play Cold Fear and never did. So that's cool.
I Am Alive was reaaaally cool on paper, and really interesting on practice. I think it could have been great with a few tweaks and QoL stuff.
Cold Fear could be worth a double-dip at the right price. I have it on PC but I don't think it ever got controller support and KB/M is funky as all hell.
I Am Alive was terrible. Must've been a package deal lol.
I seems to remember I am Alive being quite a big game back on the 360. I have a feeling I bought it, but may not have played it. I will be interested to see what Atari do with it...
I remember enjoying Cold Fear quite a lot back on the original Xbox. It plays like Resident Evil 4 but with more refined controls. The first section on the ship rocked by stormy ocean waves is brilliant, but the second half on the rig is forgettable.
I loved Grow Home when it came out. It was a breath of fresh air from the days Ubisoft were still creative.
Cold fear was something.
Some would say it was a "rip off" of resident evil... Which is true in a way. But Capcom never tried to create a resident evil on a boat, with an awful weather... Yes, the boat shakes! It's a good new if Atari can dust off this game !!
Isn't Resident Evil 6 set on a boat, @johndoe89? I may be wrong, but my memory of it tells me it was set on a liner of some sort. I didn't particularly enjoy it, and don't recall finishing it, so I may be off with my recollection...
I thoroughly enjoyed I Am Alive back in the day.
Atari reducing IPs from Ubisoft. What a day
Re releasing is one thing, but how much money do these bring in? I wonder if this has to do with Atari CEO recent comments about doing more partnerships around old IP, like with Nightdive. Maybe their partners have interest doing something with these game worlds?
The Grow Up / Home games were by Reflections of Driver fame and think that license is with Atari too
Would be good to see Atari relist Driver SF or release a Series X version and make some of the older games in the series available again with some QoL updates
I'm assuming Reflections are no more?
@GlasgowGuy Unfortunately, Driver is with Ubisoft. And I have a feeling we will soon learn it has a new home too. Would have hoped Atari had gone for it, since their CEO seems to want to reunite as much of Atari as he can.
Neat. Cold Fear was a great RE4 clone from a time when Xbox didn't get any RE love.
I Am Alive was a neat idea and poorly executed, but I also remember it being marketed as a big launch and it ended up getting stuck in development hell until it ended up downsizing into an Xbox Arcade title. I would love to see them bring it back as a big AA franchise in line with games like State of Decay.
Child of Even was great as a Kinect title. Don't see much purpose for it releasing without a Kinect to go along with it, though. It's an on-rails shooter built for lightgun mechanics and apparently lightguns don't work on modern TVs, hence the lack of one with the House of the Dead games...
Cold Fear was very good IMO. I'd definitely give that a smash.
Never heard of these other then I am Alive cause of a YouTuber I watch played it. I'm not interested in these, Cold Fear is coo if RE didn't exist lol
But then again when am I ever interested in games they release...
@RegnumSolipsi Child of Eden is already available on Xbox without Kinect support, and it plays fine with a regular controller. Not as good as with a Kinect, of course, but still good.
Finished cold fear on og xb , not good game, only first level expressive.
@Fiendish-Beaver
If my memory serves me right, I think there was a pursuit (chapitre 3 or 4 ??) where you jump from boat to boat in an harbor.
Cold fear is different. If you saw the movie Coast Guards (2006) , you have the idea of what kind sea weather you will get in Cold Fear. A different approach of the same game idea....
@fiendish-beaver Resident Evil Revelations was the one entirely set on a boat, though Cold Fear did it first — six years earlier. I remember it being a really novel concept at the time.
@johndoe89 it’s funny you mention movies, both games always reminded me of 90s horror-sci-fi gem, Deep Rising.
Thank you, @EvenStephen7. I knew I wasn't completely mad! I never finished the game. I don't remember why, but I just didn't really enjoy it...
Can not remember if it was 2005 or 2006 but when I bought my very first xbox, I visited my close friend, because his house was close by. He had only pc back then and he saw me playing Cold Fear on his big screen tv and punched the pillow (with positive jealousy) on the couch and yelled "Damn! This game is ***** amazing! How much is that xbox thing?"
When I told him how much I paid for console + extra controller + games, he punched the same pillow again as he was not in the position to afford it at that time
theres only 2 games on that list im excited for, Cold Fear, an I Am Alive, both incredibly great games
@RentedPanda man if they do good with these games though, and are on a path to bring back old games, and and possibly even remaster them, one id hope they can get is legend of the dragoon
@Cruxis I've heard good things about Legend of Dragoon, but it's a blind spot for me. So, I'm with you, I'd probably check it out if Atari (or anyone) brought it back.
Also just read that Atari acquired a majority stake in Thunderful (if I understood it - the price seemed way too low for that, so maybe I misread it) Article said this happened a while ago pending board approval, and the board has now approved. They are making a lot of moves
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