Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell has signed a three-game deal with Dutch developer Spil Games to make his “mobile-first” game debut, the studio announced Wednesday.
Bushnell, who had a hand in publishing many of gaming’s early classics, including Pong, Breakout, and Adventure, will hand over his ideas to Spil, who will bring the games to life, serving as both developer and publisher. Spil will definitely make at least three games with Bushnell, which the studio said will focus on “innovation,” but the deal keeps the door open for a longer partnership. According to Venturebeat, there may be extensions for as many as eight titles.
Bushnell said he chose to work with Spil, a large, but relatively unknown company in mobile game development, because they had the “right and unique combination of technical prowess, creative skill sets, and distribution know-how.”
“The future of gaming has a very strong mobile component,” Bushnell said in a prepared statement. “It’s where most people play games and it’s where the technology and ideas are developing most quickly.”
The Hilversum, Netherlands-based company has made a big push towards pulling together top talent for mobile game development. According to a report from GamesIndustry International, the studio has filled senior positions in publishing and mobile monetization with former staffers from Ubisoft and mobile publisher Bigpoint in the last year. Spil CEO Tung Nguyen-Khac called the opportunity to work with Bushnell “a huge validation” of his company’s work.
“The timing of our partnership is perfect,” Tung said. “Spil Games has entered a period of astonishing creativity and innovation when it comes to mobile gaming and working with Nolan, we believe will help us amplify that success.”
Bushnell’s first game published by Spil is expected to launch in early 2017.
Related Posts
I’ve played every major Zelda game, here’s what The Legend of Zelda movie needs to get right
In terms of iconic pop culture heroes, Link is up there with Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, and Superman. While Benjamin Evan Ainsworth has proven himself capable enough to lead The Legend of Zelda's cast, adapting Link’s character for the big screen is a challenge. For much of the Zelda franchise, Link is depicted as a silent protagonist who serves as a stand-in for the player. However, that doesn't mean Link isn't a unique character. Each version of Link has a distinct story, but they are all known for their incredible courage, loyalty, and dedication to protecting the innocent. However, he has also shown many times that he can be silly, reckless, rageful, guilty, and tempted by greed. Link doesn’t necessarily have to speak in the film to appeal to audiences. However, he just can't be a one-dimensional fantasy hero. We have to see how multifaceted a person Link is as he grows and reacts to everything, carrying such a heavy burden as the Hero of Hyrule. Zelda should share the adventure with Link
PlayStation 5 can technically be a CD-player, if you’ve got a tinkerer’s heart
But a creator behind the YouTube channel Will It Work? decided to test that limit with a clever workaround. Using an unusual optical drive, he managed to trick the PS5 into reading CDs as if they were USB storage devices.
Blizzard finally gives you a date for WoW: Midnight, and you’d better start getting ready
Midnight launches at 10:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00 p.m. Eastern, and servers will open simultaneously across regions.