Atari to acquire Crossy Road developer Hipster Whale

Atari has agreed to acquire Hipster Whale, the Australian studio best known for Crossy Road. The deal is structured to potentially cost Atari almost $40 million, which puts a concrete price on a small studio with a very durable mobile hit and recognizable brand value.

For developers, the takeaway is that evergreen mobile IP still matters in M&A, especially when the game has strong retention, broad audience appeal, and room for licensing or sequel expansion. It also suggests Atari is still leaning into portfolio-building rather than just nostalgia branding, which raises the usual questions about how much autonomy the acquired team keeps and how the studio’s existing live ops or release cadence might change.