Atari has bought the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 publishing rights from Frontier Developments for $7 million.
Atari, which has a long-term RollerCoaster Tycoon licensing agreement with franchise creator Chris Sawyer, said it is now the sole publisher of all major titles within the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise, including Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, Rollercoaster Tycoon Deluxe, Rollercoaster Tycoon Joyride, Rollercoaster Tycoon World, Rollercoaster Tycoon Puzzle, and Rollercoaster Tycoon Touch.
The hugely successful Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 was developed by Frontier Developments, the UK studio behind Elite: Dangerous and Zoo Tycoon, and released in 2004. It’s available now on PC, Mac, iOS, and Nintendo Switch, but Atari said it plans to expand digital and physical distribution, and “explore brand and merchandising collaborations as part of a long-term plan to bring the franchise to new heights.”
“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Rollercoaster Tycoon with Chris Sawyer, I am really pleased that we can unite this important and successful title in the series with the rest of the franchise,” said Wade Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Atari. ”This is going to create new opportunities for Atari as we continue the great work done by Frontier, and bring benefits to the fans of games across the Rollercoaster Tycoon franchise.”
The sale brings in much-needed cash for Frontier, which has struggled in recent years after a string of games failed to hit sales projections. In November, Frontier issued a trading update following poor launch sales of its real-time strategy game Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin. The studio has also suffered a round of layoffs.
In a trading update issued this week, Frontier said sales of its games since January have been “in-line with expectations”, with Jurassic World Evolution 2 and Planet Zoo leading the charge. The recent console release of Planet Zoo saw “strong player engagement”, with total sales up to and including the day of release greater than the sales achieved by Planet Coaster when that game came out on consoles in November 2020.
According to Frontier, publishing RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 generated $1.5 million in profit per year since the company acquired the rights in 2018. The $7 million sale is made up of $4 million of up-front cash and $3 million of deferred cash. “The proceeds of the disposal will be utilized by the Company for general working capital purposes,” Frontier said.
Frontier’s cash position grew to £23.4 million as of March 31, 2024, up from £19.9 million as of December 31, 2023. Cash received during that three month period included the $4m of up-front consideration due from the sale of the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 publishing rights and the first tranche of the video games tax relief cash credit related to the FY23 UK tax returns, Frontier said.
As for the future, Frontier said it “remains comfortable” with its previous guidance. In a previous update, Frontier said it was refocusing on creative management simulation games (CMS). With this in mind, Frontier has confirmed three future CMS games, with one releasing in each of the next three financial years. Alongside this it will continue to develop and support its existing portfolio of games, including Elite Dangerous, F1 Manager, and Realms of Ruin.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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