Atari Announces New Platformer Mr. Run and Jump
A brand-new game from Atari will be out this summer.
Mr. Run and Jump is a speed-focused 2D platformer that will release on July 25 for all platforms, including Atari’s home console the VCS. It will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store.
The game comes from Graphite Lab, a St. Louis-based developer. Mr. Run and Jump started out in 2021 as a homebrew project for the Atari 2600 from Heavy Horse Games and John Mikula, a senior programmer and game director at Graphite Lab. Atari liked the concept and decided to publish it as a full-fledged game with a visual makeover.
Mr. Run and Jump features fast-paced platforming with neon graphics where players need quick reflexes to get through each stage. The goal on each level is to avoid enemies and collect all the Power Gems from the Realms of Color so Mr. Run and Jump can defeat the Void. The story is also about trying to find your missing dog named Leap. The game advertises over 30 hours of gameplay with dozens of stages across six worlds, a time trial mode and collectables to find.
Graphite Lab’s previous games were the puzzle platformer Kombinera (2022) and action platformer Hive Jump (2017). The company was founded in 2009. Atari also published Kombinera.
Mr. Run and Jump can be wishlisted on Steam.
Founded in 1972, Atari has gone through numerous changes over the last few decades. The Atari brand is currently owned by the French company Atari SA, with divisions in gaming, hardware, licensing and blockchain. Atari’s CEO is Wade Rosen, a mid-30s business entrepreneur with a tech background who became head of the company in April 2021. Rosen was also formerly the CEO of Ziggurat Interactive, a newer publisher of retro games for modern audiences like Bloodrayne. Atari SA is a publicly traded company but Atari operates as a much smaller group today with Rosen at the helm.
Publishing Mr. Run and Jump is the latest in a number of moves Atari has made in the gaming space during the past few years. The company has been buying up the rights to old licenses this year, recently acquiring over 100 console and PC titles like Bubsy, Hardball and Demolition Racer along with the trademarks to companies like Accolade. Atari also recently acquired the rights to the M Network brand and over 12 of its games from the Atari 2600 like Armor Ambush, Astroblast and Star Strike. It’s also in the process of acquiring Nightdive Studios for $10 million in cash and stock, the developer behind several retro game re-releases and the upcoming System Shock remake. Atari bought MobyGames, an online database site, for $1.5 million in March 2022.
The company released Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration for all platforms last November with Digital Eclipse. The release featured a collection of games from the arcade, Atari’s home computers and home consoles up to the Jaguar along with several new titles, interviews with creators and other historical content. Atari has also released several new, modern versions of some of its classic games under the Recharged banner in the last few years, like Caverns of Mars, Missile Command, Black Widow, Gravitar, Breakout, Yars’ Revenge, Centipede and Asteroids. The studio also published another new release with Jeff Minters’ Akka Arrh in February.
The Atari VCS console launched in December 2020 after crowdfunding over $3 million and then in June 2021 at retail in North America for $399 and $299. Atari announced the system in 2017 as the company’s first entrance into the home console market since the ’90s. The VCS is a Linux-based hybrid system where players can download Atari or indie games, install media apps and have it act as a PC by installing Windows 10. Atari halted the console’s production in December 2022 due to low sales and losses in its hardware division. The console also had development issues with delays prior to its release. The console’s lead designer Rob Wyatt (the system architect on the original Xbox) and his company Tin Giant quit in 2019 after not receiving payments from Atari for six months.
Rosen offered to buy Atari last December after the company faced financial difficulties during its latest fiscal year.
Watch the game’s trailer:
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[…] Atari has announced a new platformer game called Mr. Run and Jump, which features a fast-moving protagonist and challenging obstacles that require quick reflexes to overcome – it was first made as homebrew for the 2600. [Quarter Disorder] Link […]