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Atomic Games

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Atomic Games, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded1989 (1989)
FounderKeith Zabalaoui
DefunctMay 2011 (2011-05)
FateDissolved together with parent
Headquarters
Austin, Texas
,
U.S.
Key people
Peter Tamte
ParentDestineer (2005–2011)
Websiteatomicgames.com

Atomic Games, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas, specializing in wargames. The company was founded by Keith Zabalaoui in 1989, and is best known for developing the Close Combat series of real-time wargames, as well as the V for Victory series.[1] In December 2000, due to the cancellation of a project titled Hammer's Slammers, Atomic Games laid off its entire staff, only keeping three executives.[2][3] Atomic Games was acquired by Destineer on May 6, 2005, while collaborating on Close Combat: Red Phoenix and Close Combat: First to Fight.[4][5] Atomic Games was developing a third-person shooter, Six Days in Fallujah, in cooperation with Konami, until the latter decided to withdraw from the project in August 2009, causing significant layoffs at Atomic Games.[6][7][8] The company went on to finish the game, but never released it.[9] Atomic Games released the game called Breach, which is a multiplayer-only downloadable first-person shooter.[10] Destineer also owned Bold Games, and MacSoft, who also went down with Destineer.

With Avalon Hill

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Avalon Hill, a game publishing company and subsidiary of Hasbro, signed with Avalon Hill in 1993 and they started developing Beyond Squad Leader and the World at War series for its new publisher.[11][12][13][14] Rose, hired to lead Avalon Hill's computer game division in December 1992,[15] had been tasked with reviving this section of the business in the face of flagging board game sales.[16] The two companies' first collaboration, Operation Crusader, reused the engine of the V for Victory series. PC Gamer US wargame columnist William R. Trotter named it one of the top-five wargames of 1994.[17]

Atomic and Avalon experienced creative friction during the development of their projects together.[18][19][13] Computer Gaming World columnist Alan Emrich wrote in 1995, "To say there was no love lost between [...] Jim Rose and Atomic's Keith Zabalaoui would be a gracious understatement."[13] By June 1995, Rose had left Avalon Hill to found TalonSoft, and Beyond Squad Leader had entered alpha testing.[20]

Games

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References

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  1. ^ Remo, Chris (March 11, 2009). "Interview: Atomic Games' Tamte On New Projects, Return Of Close Combat".
  2. ^ "AND ANOTHER ONES GONE, ANOTHER ONES GONE… [Author: Arcadian Del Sol]". December 13, 2000.
  3. ^ Walker, Trey (May 17, 2006). "Atomic Games Shuts Down".
  4. ^ "Destineer acquires Atomic Games". Macworld.
  5. ^ "Destineer Buys Close Combat Developer Atomic Games – The Mac Observer". www.macobserver.com.
  6. ^ "Rumor: Atomic Games is 'pretty much dead'".
  7. ^ Alexander, Leigh (August 6, 2009). "Atomic Sees Layoffs As Controversial Fallujah Fails To Find Publisher".
  8. ^ Fahey, Mike (August 6, 2009). "Six Days In Fallujah Causes Casualties At Atomic Games".
  9. ^ Reilly, Jim (March 2, 2010). "Six Days in Fallujah Finished, Still Coming Out".
  10. ^ Hatfield, Daemon (March 25, 2010). "PAX East 10: Atomic Games Wants to Level the Battlefield". IGN.com. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  11. ^ Emrich, Alan (November 1993). "How Goes the Battle?". Computer Gaming World. No. 112. p. 164.
  12. ^ Hawthorne, Don (1993). "Silicon Simulations". The General. 29 (1): 54, 55.
  13. ^ a b c Emrich, Alan (November 1995). "Turning the Telescope Around; G-2". Computer Gaming World. No. 136. pp. 253, 254, 256.
  14. ^ Emrich, Alan (August 1994). "When in Illuria, Do as the Warlords Do; G-2". Computer Gaming World. No. 121. pp. 101, 102.
  15. ^ Rose, Jim (1993). "Silicon Simulations". The General. 28 (4): 57.
  16. ^ Greenwood, Don (1994). "The Avalon Hill Philosophy Part 161: A Tale of Two Companies". The General. 29 (2): 3.
  17. ^ Trotter, William R. (February 1995). "The Desktop General; The Best and Worst of 1994". 2 (2): 133. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ Coleman, Terry (January 1999). "Close Combat III; Atomic for Power, Turbines for Speed". Computer Gaming World. No. 174. pp. 82, 83, 86.
  19. ^ Trotter, William R. (December 1995). "The Desktop General; Avalon Hill: On the Ropes or On a Roll?". PC Gamer US. 2 (12): 303, 304.
  20. ^ Emrich, Alan (June 1995). "Dealing with the Fog of War; G-2". Computer Gaming World. No. 131. pp. 153, 154.
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