Atari agreed to acquire Crossy Road studio Hipster Whale, with $29.3 million due at closing

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, from public records. Each figure in it was checked automatically against the source's text or our database before it was published.

Atari said on Jun 1, 2026 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Hipster Whale, the Melbourne studio founded in 2014 behind Crossy Road and PAC-MAN 256. The company said it expected the acquisition to be completed in the coming days. At closing, Atari was to make an initial payment of $29.3 million, made up of $26 million in cash and $3.3 million in newly issued Atari shares. The cash part was subject to a customary adjustment for net debt and working capital. The deal also carried an earn-out, a payment that depends on later results, of up to $10 million in cash, payable over three years and based on Hipster Whale's future performance.1^,2^,3^,4^,5^,6^,7^,8

Atari said Hipster Whale generated $8.28 million in revenue and $4.63 million in EBITDA, a profit measure before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, in the twelve months ended Jan 31, 2026. Those figures came from unaudited statements. Atari said it would finance the cash part with a $13.1 million bank loan and a $14 million loan from its reference shareholder, IRATA LLC. The number of new shares was set on an Atari share price of €24, and a Hipster Whale shareholder was to hold about 4% of Atari's share capital once they were issued, under a one-year lock-up, a promise not to sell for that time.9^,10^,11^,12^,13^,14

The release said Crossy Road had passed 340 million downloads, and that the franchise, in free-to-play and Apple Arcade versions, would join a mobile portfolio that already included RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic and RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch. Atari said it expected Hipster Whale co-founder Matt Hall to take a leadership role overseeing its mobile development. Wade Rosen, Atari's chairman and chief executive, called the deal a significant milestone in the company's growth plan.15^,16^,17^,18

In the second release, Atari said its board had resolved to offer early redemption of its bonds convertible into new shares, due on Jul 31, 2026. It tied the offer to the lack of bondholder approval for the move to Luxembourg: the bondholders' general meeting did not reach the required quorum on May 15, 2026 or on May 27, 2026. Bondholders could ask for redemption from Jun 1, 2026 until the bonds matured on Jul 31, 2026. Atari would pay the par value, or face value, in cash plus accrued interest, within 30 days of each request. The release added that Irata LLC, which it said held about 98% of the bonds, had already agreed not to ask for redemption, as announced on Feb 17, 2026.19^,20^,21^,22^,23^,24

Both are the company's own statements, and we hold the text of both releases, 12,327 characters on 4 pages and 7,408 characters on 3 pages, in English. The text we hold does not give the amount of bonds outstanding, and we hold none of the documents the releases refer to.25^,26