Jeff Minter and Atari reconcile for Tempest revival
Tempest 4000 in the works, just two years after designer and publisher were in dispute
Atari has announced its working on a new version of classic arcade title Tempest, and long-serving designer Jeff Minter is back on board.
Tempest 4000 will be released by the end of the year for PC and consoles and aims to revive the gameplay of the earlier titles, Eurogamer reports. Minter was the creator of Tempest 2000, a 1994 remake of the original game, so his experience will ensure a level of authenticity.
It's notable that Minter has agreed to work on the project, given that he was engaged in a prominent dispute with Atari as recently as 2015.
Minter and his Llamasoft team developed the 2014 PlayStation Vita title TxK, which the designer referred to as a "distantly related sequel" to Tempest 2000. Atari blocked him from releasing the game on new platforms due to the similarities with Tempest.
The designer accused the publisher of being a "copyright troll". The publisher reportedly threatened to prevent Minter from developing any future games similar to Tempest, according to Gamasutra.
Evidently, both parties have put this incident behind them, with Minter saying in an official statement: "At the end of the day, video gamers always win. I am very happy to work with Atari again to bring a long-awaited sequel of Tempest to our legion of fans and a new generation of gamers worldwide."
Atari COO Todd Shallbetter added: "We're thrilled to be able to work with Jeff Minter again, someone who is a legend in the industry and has made a huge impact on the history of video games, to develop this highly-anticipated next instalment of the Tempest franchise, updated with today's technology."
More information on Tempest 4000 is expected to be released at Gamescom.