Atari Acquires Thunderful Group and Its Five Game Studios

By Bee Wertheimer  |  July 29, 2025 | 4:31pm
Screenshot from SteamWorld Heist II
Video Games News Atari
Atari Acquires Thunderful Group and Its Five Game Studios

Atari announced in a press release today that they will be acquiring 82% of shares of Thunderful Group AB, a Swedish game development and publishing company known for titles such as Viewfinder and the SteamWorld anthology. Atari will pay SEK 50 million in the agreement—approximately $5.19 million USD—should it be approved by shareholders in late August. According to the report, the transaction received unanimous support from Thunderful’s Board of Directors as well as two of their largest shareholders.

Atari will directly issue 333,333,334 new ordinary shares at a subscription price of SEK 0.15 to Thunderful. The Swedish Security Council has granted Atari an exemption from having to make a mandatory bid offer for the remaining shares under Swedish takeover rules.

Thunderful is the latest in a series of acquisitions made by Atari. Since 2023 the game company has acquired former rival Intellivision, as well as game development studios Digital Eclipse and Nightdive.

In addition to the acquisition, Thunderful is enacting layoffs as part of an operations restructuring effort, citing yet another unexpectedly poor financial quarter. Lost in Random: The Eternal Die in particular did not sell as anticipated after its June release, according to their press release. Thunderful CEO Martin Walfisz will also be stepping down from his position as part of the changes.

The restructuring comes four months after Thunderful announced they would be shuttering Studio Fizbin weeks before the release of their action roguelike Reignbreaker. Another restructuring effort also occurred in January 2024, where Thunderful laid off 20% of their workforce and divested from various properties. Another 80-100 employees were let go in November 2024.

Following the Atari acquisition, Thunderful launched a reveal trailer for their latest title, Godbreakers. The multiplayer roguelike is being developed by To The Sky, an ex-EA-led team that was purchased by Thunderful in 2021. Godbreakers will be released sometime this year.

 
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