Atari announced last month that it is "rebooting" Alone in the Dark and Haunted House . Both games are very old—Haunted House came out in 1982, while Alone in the Dark is from '92—and so obviously a good bit of work is going to be required to make them relevant to modern gamers. Even so, it sounds like other games in Atari's extensive catalog will be given similar overhauls in the future.
"In having this great catalog of over 220 IPs, it affords us a lot of challenges and benefits," Atari Chief Operating Officer Todd Shallbetter told Polygon . "The challenge side is what do you select? What is it that we really want to put resources behind and really blow out for this fan base that is clamoring for these new things? On the other side, you have the benefit of having that back catalog to choose from."
Of course, Atari isn't the company it once was and it's way too early in the Alone in the Dark reboot process to judge the direction it's taken, but I love the idea of using its old game premises to build new releases. A good idea doesn't necessarily translate into a good game, but it is a good place to start. Centipede as a cover-based shooter? Yeah, I'd buy that.
"Our goal is to create new experiences with classic gameplay," Shallbetter said. "Full, sustained relevance."
There's no word yet on when the reboots will be ready for launch, but you can find out more about the new Alone in the Dark—actually called Alone in the Dark: Illumination—at aitd.com .
