Hasbro studio Atomic Arcade has been shut down, five years after its initial formation. Developers had been working on a major G.I. Joe adaptation starring covert operative Snake Eyes, but it appears the plug has now been pulled.
Per Hasbro, Snake Eyes has not been outright cancelled, and the company is ‘evaluating a path forward’ for the game. But with the majority of the studio’s developers reportedly let go, it’s unclear how development work will continue.
Atomic Arcade shut down – quick links
Atomic Arcade’s short life
Atomic Arcade was established in 2021, with Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast jointly supporting its operation and growth over the following years. Snake Eyes was its first major project, with this adaptation aiming to be a high-quality video game centred on the iconic G.I. Joe ninja.
It appears developers had spent the past five years developing this project, with intentions for it to be a major new adaptation of G.I. Joe – a revival of sorts for a franchise that has drifted from the spotlight.
It’s unclear what will happen now, given Atomic Arcade has been shut down entirely.
Per a notice from Hasbro sent to various media outlets, decisions around the game have not been finalised, and it will provide an update in future.
It’s unclear how many developers are left to continue work on the project, as many have taken to LinkedIn to confirm their redundancies while also shining a light on the departures of their colleagues.
‘Unfortunately Hasbro has made the call to close Atomic Arcade. I was only with the studio for about a year, but from the start I felt the studio had tons of talent and potential,’ one laid-off developer wrote. ‘I’ll miss working with the team we had, and wish everyone the best.’
What’s next for Hasbro’s investment in video games?
The closure of Atomic Arcade is a fair surprise, given Hasbro’s 2024 announcement of a big investment of AU$1 billion into internal video game development.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Dan Ayoub, who heads digital product development at Wizards of the Coast, highlighted Hasbro’s interest in video games and supporting internal studios to create ambitious AAA projects.
‘Hasbro’s a 100-year-old company and it’s built on play,’ Ayoub said at the time. ‘It’s always been about play, it’s always been about entertaining people. And gaming is the predominant form of entertainment for a lot of people and it’s something that just continues to grow. So in a lot of ways, it makes sense for Hasbro to be in this space.’
Inspired by the success of Baldur’s Gate 3, which was a co-development project with Larian Studios, it appears Hasbro saw an inspiring future in investing in video games. Over the last few years, it’s established an array of studios to work on new projects, including the Matthew McConaughey-featuring Exodus and Dungeons & Dragons spin-off, Warlock.
Atomic Arcade’s Snake Eyes game was named as a ‘major shot in the arm’ to the G.I. Joe franchise by Ayoub in 2024, and it was seemingly considered a flagship title.
It appears the company’s faith in the game shifted over the last two years.
While Snake Eyes may be revived under a new studio, its future remains unclear. We’ll have to wait to see what’s next, as Hasbro announces a new direction for this project, and reveals more about its long-term plans to invest in its internal game studios.
