Atari to Auction Off Assets in July

Atari Inc. plans to put its video game properties up for auction this July. The news comes after the company failed to find a buyer for its entire catalogue of games after filling for bankruptcy in January. According to Atari, it received fifteen offers, none of which were satisfactory.

The upcoming auction will take place over four days in July. Some of the properties on sale include Rollercoaster Tycoon, Total Annihilation, and Test Drive. Splitting up its properties into various "pools" might allow Atari to reach whatever price threshold the company is looking for. "The Debtors believe that this type of a targeted bidding process affords the Debtors the best opportunity to market the Assets and maximize the value thereof for the benefit of all stakeholders," Atari said in papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

Atari, now over forty years old, is the grandfather of the video game industry. Games like Pong, Asteroids, and Centipede gave birth to an industry now worth $70 billion. Over the past few years, Atari's operations have focused mostly on mobile games and licensing.

The company is waiting on court approval to set the auction process in motion. A hearing is set for June 11.