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Atari closes Test Drive Unlimited developer Eden Games
Eden Games, which developed Test Drive Unlimited and Alone in the Dark once upon a time, is done. Eurogamer reports the Lyon, France, company was placed into liquidation in January.In May of last year, Atari worked some damage control when it was reported Eden Games was shuttered. The company stated at the time it wanted to "make it clear that the studio has not closed and that [Atari] will continue to support the console and PC games of Eden Games." However, seven months later...
Atari says Eden Games isn't closed, plans to continue supporting the studio
[Update] A few hours ago, we reported that Eden Games had been shuttered – you can read our original report below. An Atari representative has told Joystiq that despite the "divestiture process" wording in the financial statement sourced below suggesting closure of the studio, Eden Games has not been fully liquidated. Eden Games still exists, and Atari plans to support the studio moving forward. "Our earnings statement contained a report about the divestment of Eden Games. We want to make it clear that the studio has not closed and that we will continue to support the console and PC games of Eden Games, notably Test Drive Unlimited 2, while this process is underway. The divestment is in line with our previously stated strategy of exploiting our popular intellectual property library on mobile devices, where he have seen strong initial success, and via online games and licensing."[Original story] Eden Games is no more. Last year Eden Games engaged in a "symbolic" one-day strike in response to a first wave of layoffs, and today Atari has shut down what was left of the French studio responsible for the Test Drive series of racing sims."Eden Games has been accounted for as 'Discontinued Operations' under IFRS 5, as the Company has started a divestiture process of the studio," Atari's earnings report reads. (That's business speak explaining Eden Games has been dissolved.) Earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012 show Atari made $51.3 million – a 44% decline compared to last year's $77.8 million in revenue.Last year, when the first round of Eden Games employees were dismissed, some went on to found Blossom Minds.
Test Drive Unlimited 2's DLC 2 planned for February, adds bikes and new content
As predicted way back before the game's release, Test Drive Unlimited 2 is indeed getting some bikes to play around with. In a post on the game's official forums, a community manager for Atari says the game's second DLC pack is scheduled for February 2012. It will bring three bikes, including a Harley and two Ducatis, as well as six new cars, new missions and locations to explore. You'll also receive new clothes and furniture to buy, and notice some minor enhancements to the game, like the ability to change car positions in the garage or control headlights. Finally, Test Drive 2 will offer support for some more driving wheel accessories. The first DLC for the game ended up arriving at no cost thanks to a buggy launch, but it's been a while -- about nine months -- since TDU2 has seen new content. Eden Games has, after all, been dealing with other issues.
French studio Blossom Minds founded by former Eden Games designers
Blossom Minds is a new, independent French developer with a cheery chia-head logo and a desire to make "smaller games but with big production polish." The studio's first game is set to debut in 2012 through unannounced digital distribution channels. Before co-founding Blossom Minds, Jérôme Braune worked with Eden Games as a designer on open-world racer Test Drive 2 and Atari's survival-horror reboot, Alone in the Dark. Braune and nine others left Eden Games to pursue this publisher-free path, and claim that 13 years of shared experience in traditional businesses have taught them how to make "innovative game experiences for demanding gamers." In order to convey the team's spirit, the press release offers this cute quote: "We are done with AAA titles; let us bring the OOOOOOH! instead."
Test Drive dev Eden Games goes on 'symbolic' one day strike
In response to previously unknown plans at Atari to lay off approximately 51 of Eden Games' 80 total employees, the Test Drive Unlimited developer is staging a "Symbolic Day Strike" today. A statement sent to Gamasutra from an unnamed Eden Games employee explains the act as a response to what the studio believes is "mismanagement" on the part of its parent company and publisher, Atari, and an effort to engage Atari president Jim Wilson directly. The Eden Games message claims that Wilson has "never introduced himself to his employees." The proposed cuts at Eden, said to be taking place this coming June, are supposedly the result of a change in Atari's focus, as it moves away from packaged retail goods and towards MMOs and games with online-based business models. Eden Games' latest projects -- the Test Drive Unlimited series and Alone in the Dark -- have all been retail-centric, potentially spurring the decision by Atari to cut staff at the studio. An Eden employee clarified that the strike was in direct response to stalled negotiations with Atari, and said that Eden "didn't receive at this time any information or feedback from Atari management." The representative also noted that internal projections put the studio's latest effort, Test Drive Unlimited 2, at around 900K units sold to date.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 free DLC out on PC, coming soon to consoles
Though it may lack the apologetic punch of a Hallmark card featuring doe-eyed kittens telling us how "sowwy" they are, Eden Games and Atari have released a pretty thorough make-up patch for its bug riddled racer, Test Drive Unlimited 2. The free Exploration DLC pack, which adds a number of new events, cars and outfits (as well as a plethora of much-needed bug fixes) is available today on PC, and is coming "very soon" to consoles. You can check out the extensive list of updates after the jump, and spend the rest of the day wondering how this game made it to store shelves with problems like "Cars sometimes turn invisible." That seems like the kind of thing you'd notice in QA, right? Actually, since the cars were invisible, they wouldn't notice them? We need to think about that one.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 players get free DLC as apology for bug-plagued launch
Bummed that your launch experience with Test Drive Unlimited 2 was hampered by game-breaking bugs and server outages? Atari and developer Eden Games totally understand -- and while it's a little impractical to come around and give shoulder massages to everyone affected, they'd like to do the next best thing: Give away some free DLC for your troubles. That being the case, the upcoming Exploration DLC pack will be a gratis download. It will unlock the Lancia Stratos version Rallye and 1969 Dodge Charger in addition to fixing a whole slew of bugs, from login issues to repairing corrupt saves -- even adding an improved casino experience. The content has gone live for the PC version already, with the console updates currently being approved by Microsoft and Sony, so they're expected soon.
Atari starts Test Drive Unlimited 2's engines
MMO racers are an interesting breed, seemingly rarer than a '68 GT40. Whether it's due to EA's relatively under-the-radar Need For Speed World or the gone-but-not-forgotten Motor City Online, car enthusiasts with a shared passion for MMOs have endured slim pickings in recent years. Happily, Atari and Eden Games are looking to change all that with this week's release of Test Drive Unlimited 2, an ambitious new racing title for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 platforms. TDU2 lives up to its MMO billing (and its "beyond racing" tagline) by delivering a non-linear experience that is as much about collecting and progression as it is about driving. Also in the mix are a variety of social options such as avatar, housing, and furniture customization as well as the requisite car tuning and parts tweaking minigames. TDU2 also aims to out-MMO many current MMOs by delivering large playfields and emphasizing shared social spaces (including gambling hubs, player-run clubs, and cooperative races). TDU2 can be played sans a sub fee after you purchase the digital download or retail box, and Atari plans to offer DLC in the form of car, clothing, and furniture packs to monetize the game over time. Check out our exclusive in-game gallery below and head to the game's official website for more info. %Gallery-116007%
Test Drive Unlimited 2 trailer features character customization, hot beats
Atari and Eden Games have sent along another Test Drive Unlimited 2 trailer, this time focusing on character customization, from in-game cosmetic surgery to your very own house designs. Bonus: The Ibiza music in the trailer doubles as a test of your speakers' woofers!
Test Drive Unlimited 2 trailer shows off Audi models, including the Q7
Atari continues to tempt us with sumptuous Test Drive Unlimited 2 HD trailers, this time showing off some gorgeous Audi models, including the Q7 crossover SUV. An SUV in a racing game, you ask? Sure -- how else are you going to haul all of that furniture to your customizable house?
Test Drive Unlimited 2 trailer is really rubbing it in
Okay, Test Drive Unlimited 2. We get it, alright? Your game is set in a remarkably beautiful, peninsular world that our real-life salaries will never allow us to inhabit. You don't have to keep rubbing our nose in that fact with your every trailer, including the gorgeous video posted below.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 due on Feb. 8, pre-orders detailed
Test Drive Unlimited 2 developer Eden Games is betting you'll be all done with Gran Turismo 5 and ready for a new driving game by early next year, announcing plans to drop TDU2's opening flag on February 8. It appears the studio is using its extra half year of development time -- the game was pushed back from September to "Q1 2011" this past August -- to create an unbelievably complex pre-order incentive plan at several different retailers, broken down after the break. We'll parse it for you real quick right here, should you not have the time: GameStop pre-orders get the Casino DLC while every other retailer just gives you a car. Sure, Walmart's offer of an in-game Bugati Veyron Supersport 2010 is tempting, but it's not a whole freakin' game mode.
Test Drive Unlimited 2's 'Casino' DLC trailer is for the lucky ones
When Test Drive Unlimited 2 launches early next year, players will be able to indulge in one of life's sweetest vices: Gambling. The launch day Casino DLC pack will give players another channel of income and unlockable cars -- provided they're as constantly lucky as the players in the trailer below.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 delayed until Q1 2011
Atari and Eden Games' Test Drive Unlimited 2 has pulled into the slow lane for now, with the open-world racer missing its September debut in favor of an "early 2011" launch. Consequently, the planned beta period has also been pushed back, although players who already signed up will apparently be rewarded with "exclusive in-game content" when the final game arrives (and they'll still participate in the multiplayer test drive). According to a message posted on the official website for Test Drive Unlimited 2, the delay will allow Eden Games to apply "a few extra months of polish" and ensure "that we deliver a robust and reliable online service from the day we go live." The new beta dates are expected to be announced "shortly."
Aston Martin One-77 unveiled in Test Drive Unlimited 2
In real life, the Aston Martin One-77 is a gorgeous little state-of-the-art luxury coupé with a lightweight carbon fiber chassis, a production run of only 77 units, a top speed of 220 miles per hour and a price upwards of a million dollars. In Test Drive Unlimited 2, though, you'll actually be able to own and drive one. Sure, the experience of driving this masterpiece in real life might not quite compare to pushing pixels around in a video game, but trust us, the insurance premiums are way less. Drool over these shots (and the video after the break) until the game comes out September 21. %Gallery-97646%
Rumorong: Test Drive Unlimited servers not going offline next year
Reports have been floating around the 'net that Atari would be shutting off the servers for the first Test Drive: Unlimited game as early as January of 2011, presumably to make way for the open world racing game's sequel. But Atari tells Joystiq that the rumors are blatantly untrue -- "they are not dropping the servers at all," a representative told us this afternoon. The rep said that it's possible that French developer Eden Games may be moving the servers in some way, but anything like that would make no difference for players of the game at all. So keep on driving, Test Drivers -- your virtual O'ahu isn't going anywhere.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 trailer lives the fast life
If you turn to video games as a source for blissful escapism, it looks like you won't be able to do much better than Test Drive Unlimited 2. That is, of course, if you prefer to escape to lush, tropical environments and vast sums of financial assets, and not monster-laden Hellworlds.
Preview: Test Drive Unlimited 2
After hearing all about the game a few months ago, we finally got to see Test Drive Unlimited 2 in action at Atari's booth on the floor of E3, and it was just as impressive as expected. Eden Games has really expounded exponentially on their premise of creating an MMO racing game, and the result seems to be a title that all kinds of players will find enticing. Customization is one of the backbones of the MMO genre -- in a persistent world full of thousands of people, you've got to do everything you can to try and stand out. So Eden has made almost everything in the game customizable: the vehicles you drive, your own character, your home and your location. The first title in the series toyed with customization, but the second title almost puts it front and center.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 accepting beta applications
If you're one of those cautious, try-before-you-buy types, you may want to check out the recently posted beta application for Atari's online racer, Test Drive Unlimited 2. It's pretty much your basic application: Name, gender, address, computer specs, which consoles you own, how long you spend playing games each week, and detailed report on your sexual history over the past eighteen months. You'll need to register for an Atari account to fill in these parameters, thought if you've already got a Champions Online or Star Trek Online account, you should already have access to the application. Also, we were kidding about the whole "sexual history" thing. They only want to know about the past six months. Whew! [Thanks, B1gg_Randall]
Test Drive Unlimited 2 drives off the lot Sept. 21
Those awaiting the arrival of Test Drive Unlimited 2 shouldn't make any travel plans for the second week of September, because Atari's already booked you for a trip to Ibiza. The scenic racing game is due to be released on September 21, 2010 in North America, and pre-order campaigns will roll out beginning this week (May 28). As has become the norm, various retailers will feature unique bonuses in exchange for your solemn vow to purchase the game from them. Here's a quick rundown of what's being offered to pre-purchasers: Amazon pre-order bonus: Aston Martin V12 Vantage Carbon Black special edition, in-game avatar apparel and Amazon video games store credit (amount TBA) Atari.com: custom Nissan 370Z Best Buy: Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black special edition GameStop: TDU2: Casino Online bonus game (including poker, roulette and slots; playable with friends online) and two exclusive unlockable cars Walmart: Inuit finish Audi Q7 V12 TDI Quattro, in-game avatar apparel and Walmart.com gift card (amount TBA). We recently saw Test Drive Unlimited 2 in action and will have hands-on impressions of the game from E3.
