Atari logo

Atari

United States Founded 1972

The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, California, in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company's products, such as Pong and the Atari 2600, helped define the electronic entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. Negotiating until close to midnight on July 1, 1984, Jack Tramiel purchased the home computing and game console divisions of Atari for $240 million in promissory notes and stocks. Warner gained a 20% stake in Tramel Technologies, which was renamed Atari Corporation. Warner retained the arcade division, continuing it under the name Atari Games, but sold it to Namco in 1985. Warner also sold the Ataritel division to Mitsubishi.

Atari at a Glance

Atari stands as one of the most significant names in gaming history, having operated continuously from 1971 through at least 2026. Founded in Sunnyvale, California, by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, the company helped define the electronic entertainment industry during the 1970s and mid-1980s with products like Pong and the Atari 2600. The organization has a massive catalog on PlayPile containing 214 titles, split between 175 as a publisher and 161 as a developer. Their work spans over five decades, though their output volume fluctuated wildly. They released 92 games in the 1970s and 72 more in the 1980s. Activity dropped sharply in the 1990s with only three titles. The company saw a slight resurgence in the 2000s with 20 games, followed by a quiet period in the 2010s with just seven releases. Recent years show a small increase, with ten games released so far in the 2020s. Their genre focus is heavily rooted in Arcade work, which accounts for 125 of their total entries. Shooter games make up 53 titles, while Sport and Racing genres follow with 41 and 28 games respectively. They also have a presence in Simulator, Puzzle, Adventure, Strategy, Platform, and Indie categories. Platform support is dominated by legacy systems. Atari has 92 arcade releases and 83 for the Atari 2600. Modern platforms like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch each host nine titles, while PC and other older consoles hold fewer entries. Quality across their catalog is mixed to poor. Out of 69 rated titles on PlayPile, the average IGDB score sits at 56 out of 100. Only two games achieved a great rating above 80. The majority fall into the mixed category with 32 titles scoring between 40 and 59, and 11 titles are considered poor with scores below 40. High points include Adventure of Samsara from 2025, which holds a 90/100 rating. Classic hits like Asteroids from 1979 (81.6), Pong from 1972 (78.9), and Battlezone from 1980 (78.3) also maintain strong scores. Recent releases include Breakout Beyond in March 2025, which scored 76.5, and Golden Tee Arcade Classics in July 2025 with a 75 score. Upcoming projects scheduled for 2025 and 2026 include Bubsy 3D: ReFurBished and Bubsy 4D.

215
Total Games
56.4
Avg Rating
1971
First Release
2026
Latest Release

Genre Breakdown

Arcade
37%
Shooter
15%
Sport
12%
Racing
8%
Simulator
6%

Platform Spread

Arcade
92
Atari 2600
83
PC (Microsoft Windows)
21
Atari 8-bit
13
Atari 5200
12

Release Timeline

1970s
92
1980s
72
1990s
3
2000s
20
2010s
7
2020s
11

Rating Distribution

3
80-100
24
60-79
32
40-59
11
0-39
Taz game cover

Taz

1983·Atari2600
Barroom Baseball game cover

Barroom Baseball

1983·Arcade, Atari5200
Cloak & Dagger game cover

Cloak & Dagger

1983·Arcade
The Adventures of Major Havoc game cover

The Adventures of Major Havoc

1983·Arcade
Snoopy and the Red Baron game cover

Snoopy and the Red Baron

1983·Atari2600
Sorcerer's Apprentice game cover

Sorcerer's Apprentice

1983·Atari2600
Alpha Beam With Ernie game cover

Alpha Beam With Ernie

1983·Atari2600
Jr. Pac-Man game cover
Rating 6.6

Jr. Pac-Man

1983·Arcade, DOS, C64 +2
Swordquest: Waterworld game cover

Swordquest: Waterworld

1983·Atari2600
Crystal Castles game cover
Rating 5.3

Crystal Castles

1983·PC, X360, Arcade +8
Arabian game cover
Rating 5.9

Arabian

1983·Arcade, famicom
RealSports Tennis game cover

RealSports Tennis

1983·Atari2600
Food Fight game cover

Food Fight

1983·Arcade
Major Havoc game cover

Major Havoc

1983·Arcade
Countermeasure game cover

Countermeasure

1983·Atari5200
Swordquest: Fireworld game cover

Swordquest: Fireworld

1983·Atari2600
Black Widow game cover
Rating 4.9

Black Widow

1983·Arcade
Gravitar game cover
Rating 6.2

Gravitar

1982·Arcade
Liberator game cover
Rating 5.6

Liberator

1982·Arcade
RealSports Football game cover

RealSports Football

1982·Atari8bit, Atari5200
Tunnel Hunt game cover

Tunnel Hunt

1982·Arcade
Fast Freddie game cover

Fast Freddie

1982·Arcade
Submarine Commander game cover

Submarine Commander

1982·Apple][, Atari8bit, vic-20
RealSports Football game cover

RealSports Football

1982·Atari2600
Space Duel game cover

Space Duel

1982·Arcade
Math Gran Prix game cover

Math Gran Prix

1982·Atari2600
Atari Video Cube game cover

Atari Video Cube

1982·Atari2600
Space Dungeon game cover

Space Dungeon

1982·Arcade, Atari5200
Quantum game cover

Quantum

1982·Arcade
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial game cover
Rating 4.8

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

1982·Atari2600
Millipede game cover
Rating 6.0

Millipede

1982·PC, Arcade, Atari-ST +2
Raiders of the Lost Ark game cover
Rating 7.0

Raiders of the Lost Ark

1982·Atari2600
RealSports Soccer game cover

RealSports Soccer

1982·Atari2600, Atari5200
RealSports Volleyball game cover

RealSports Volleyball

1982·Atari2600
Swordquest: Earthworld game cover

Swordquest: Earthworld

1982·Atari2600
RealSports Baseball game cover

RealSports Baseball

1982·Atari2600
Demons to Diamonds game cover
Rating 4.8

Demons to Diamonds

1982·Atari2600
Yars' Revenge game cover
Rating 5.6

Yars' Revenge

1982·browser, Atari2600
Haunted House game cover
Rating 7.0

Haunted House

1982·Atari2600
Spider-Man game cover
Rating 4.0

Spider-Man

1982·Atari2600, Odyssey 2 / Videopac G7000
Maze Invaders game cover

Maze Invaders

1981·Arcade
Othello game cover

Othello

1981·Atari2600
Caverns of Mars game cover

Caverns of Mars

1981·Atari8bit
Stellar Track game cover

Stellar Track

1981·Atari2600
Tempest game cover
Rating 5.8

Tempest

1981·Arcade, Atari-ST, ZXS +3
Vanguard game cover
Rating 6.0

Vanguard

1981·Arcade, Atari2600, Atari5200
Centipede game cover
Rating 7.1

Centipede

1981·Arcade, browser
Asteroids Deluxe game cover
Rating 5.9

Asteroids Deluxe

1981·Arcade, Atari-ST, bbcmicro