Roller Coaster Tycoon progenitor Transport Tycoon acquired by Atari

Atari has announced that they’ve acquired Chris Sawyers’ 1994 DOS hit Transport Tycoon. That is to say, they’ve bought the property. Although, since the game is largely unavailable aside from the free OpenTTD fan source port, it would be a feat in itself to purchase it.

This is a move that makes sense. Atari already licenses Roller Coaster Tycoon, and Chris Sawyer has kept a working relationship with the company, even back when they were terrible, and even after a 2005 lawsuit. Atari recently bought a large portion of Microprose’s back catalog and is resurrecting the brand as a publishing label. It would make sense that they’d want Transport Tycoon, and that Chris Sawyer would be willing to sell it to them.

I haven’t personally played Transport Tycoon, but I’m aware of its impact. I’m also aware of Chris Sawyer’s technical mastery in the ‘90s. Guy’s a legend, but I mostly know him from Roller Coaster Tycoon and Frontier: First Encounters. I could also play OpenTTD, an open-source port of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, at any time since it’s available for free.

Speaking of OpenTTD being free, I have to wonder what Atari plans on doing with the property. The press release only says, “Atari will seek to expand digital and physical distribution, potentially develop new titles or content, and explore brand and merchandising collaborations as part of a long-term plan to preserve and expand this classic sim.” Maybe they’ll work with the community to port OpenTTD to consoles (I highly doubt they’d try and hamper the fans working on it), or perhaps they’ll port the Saturn/PS1 version of it. One thing I do know for sure is that there will probably be T-shirts with a high probability of mugs and hats, as well.

Atari has done a lot to transform its image from a reviled publisher responsible for things like Asteroids: Outpost and Haunted House: Cryptic Graves to one that pays greater respect to its stable of IPs. They’ve bought up remaster houses Nightdive Studios and Digital Eclipse. As cynical as I am, their efforts seem very earnest. It all seems like way too much effort to just be in it for the money. Four years ago, I would have told you it would never happen, but here it is. Now we get to wait and see what they do with Transport Tycoon.