Hipster Whale could revive or reimagine a range of retro classics after Atari acquisition

Crossy Road maker Hipster Whale is busy delving into the Atari IP archives following its acquisition by the rejuvenated retro label.

The buyout marks a turning point for the independent Australian studio 14 years after after its breakout hit Crossy Road, which has amassed over 340m downloads since launch.

At its peak, Crossy Road was generating $250k per day in revenue, and it made Hipster Whale $10m within 90 days of release back in 2014, cofounder Matt Hall tells us.

Crossy Road’s huge success meant that Hipster Whale has fended off many potential acquirers in the last 14 years, but none of those offers had the appeal of Atari.

There have “definitely been ongoing conversations, like even since launch week,” says Hall. “But obviously there wasn’t ever an enticing offer…we’ve always wanted really good partners and that’s one of the reasons we’re so excited to work with Atari.”

“If you think about what that brand is and what that brand means, it’s retro, it’s a celebration of the joy of the arcade. That’s their past and what they’re doing today. I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a mobile company more aligned with that spirit.”

Hall has known Atari boss Wade Rosen for years, and they share a deep love of retro and arcade games. Rosen spoke with Hall when he first became CEO of Atari, in fact, and the two had kept up a dialogue until Gamescom 2025, when the conversations got more serious and the wheels for a potential acquisition started turning.

By June of this year, the deal was done for an initial $29.3m. Hipster Whale is now part of a growing portfolio of Atari-owned retro or arcade game specialists that also includes Digital Eclipse and Nightdive Studios. And so of course, the Crossy Road maker is busy delving into the Atari archives to see what makes sense to work on next.

“Pong, Breakout, Centipede and Missile Command are still sort of around today, but they’re not available on mobile at the moment, so that’s what I’m interested in,” says Hall. “I can’t wait to bring some of these classic titles back, even if they’re just preserved…but also update them and make them exciting – a modern take, even.”

Hall says that he and Rosen also share a passion for preservation, and as a result he wants Atari’s classic brands to be live and playable on every platform possible, including formats like Apple TV, Netflix and arcade cabinets.

The team is already working on bringing a load of Atari properties to Crossy Road, of course, and Hall says that it would make sense for retro collections like Atari 50 to be available on mobile too.

“I think there’s just so much potential to bring across some of those beloved titles and put them on mobile and present them in fun ways. I certainly can’t promise anything’s coming, but there are some obvious moves there.”