Atari is bringing their classic games Asteroids and Breakout to the blockchain in a partnership with Coinbase.
The games will be part of a celebration of Onchain Summer and the new Onchain Arcade, where players can compete to earn a spot on the leaderboard to earn rewards. Mint proceeds go directly to the creators who helped bring these games to life.
Atari and Coinbase said today’s internet needs an update, as the corporate internet often squeezes creators with arbitrary rules, censorship, digital theft, middlemen, and transaction fees. That’s why Coinbase and Base have partnered with Atari, Stack and a handful of creators to launch Onchain Arcade, bringing favorite Atari classics, including Asteroids and Breakout, to the blockchain.
Tyler Drewitz, director of Atari Club and Atari X, said in an interview with GamesBeat that Coinbase has more than 100 million users for its wallets and crypto services.
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Drewitz said Atari has been involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency for a while. Former CEO Fred Chesnais was a big enthusiast for blockchain games and launched numerous initiatives. After he left in 2021 (and from the board in 2022), Atari severed many of its earlier blockchain game efforts. But it warmed up to it again and launched Web3 projects with The Sandbox and Polycade in 2022.
“We start out licensing and now we’re in creation and we’re partnering with those who are doing really cool things in the space,” Drewitz said. We are also launching our own projects.”
Drewitz said Web3 resonates with Atari because it likes to service or reward people who interact with the Atari brand.
“That’s where Atari Club originated from. We’re building that out, and it’s like a redo of the 1980s Atari Club, being able to reward people interact with the community and build it in a very native and fun way,” Drewitz said. “We love this partnership. And we’ve done that we’re now doing for the second year in a row as part of Onchain Summer. So last year, it was a test. We saw can we create a cool experience and cool vibe of the party summer camp, and a couple of exclusive items.”
This Onchain Summer collaboration ensures that proceeds from game sales are automatically and fairly distributed to the creators—artists, game developers, and more—who brought these beloved games and artwork to life. This addresses the issue of creators only receiving a small share of the earnings their content generates, and allows them to gain more control and fair compensation for their work, the companies said.
Starting now, you can relive your childhood memories with Atari classics in the new Onchain Arcade. Players can prove they are the best and receive exciting rewards, including the Atari 2600+, merch, game codes, and more. Weekly rewards will roll out through 8/30.
“For more than 50 years, Atari has been known for innovation in the gaming space, and our early adoption of Web3 technology is no different,” said Drewitz. “We’ve found that blockchain technology helps us engage with our community in a myriad of ways, from collaborating on new products and social activations, to building competitive leaderboards and rewarding members for participating. This is our second year participating in Onchain Summer, and we’re excited to delight both new and longtime fans with Atari classics Asteroids and Breakout as part of the Onchain Arcade.”
Start playing
Players can mint each game, play, and compete for a spot on the onchain Asteroid (available today) and Breakout (coming soon) leaderboards.
To do so, players have to visit a link, connect or create a cryptocurrency wallet, mint the game for $5, and then try to get on the leaderboard and win prizes.
Onchain Summer offers special mints, unique experiences, and a loyalty game that rewards players with free onchain avatars, prizes, and more.
Onchain technology gives anyone the chance to build and create onchain experiences, and then get paid directly whenever someone mints their work. This Onchain Summer, Atari and Coinbase are encouraging anyone to be a builder, and users can now visit the Onchain Summer page to discover the featured and popular mints.
Players can explore the latest and previous drops, including by Adidas, Team Liquid, Doodles, and onchain creators like Clement Cases x Bendito, on onchainsummer.xyz.
Going with blockchain light
Drewitz said the team chose Atari’s Asteroids and Breakout because they’re such accessible games and they’re fun to stir competition on leaderboards where prizes are at stake. Drewitz thinks of the Atari approach here as “blockchain light,” with a focus on Base.
“You’ll be able to purchase one of these games with a credit card in a super easy way. It’s very low friction,” he said.
As for the public’s acceptance of blockchain, Drewitz said it has evolved.
“The more there’s actually meaningful experiences, and more fun or interactive games on chain, the better it’s going to be overall,” Drewitz said.
Coinbase is building Base, which is core to Atari’s approach.
“They’re focused on onboarding and showing people the value,” Drewitz said. “It’s less friction overall. They’re also trying to create a product that is quality and actually just good. They want people building on chain, and that’s what we’re endorsing with this as well. As we go forward with this partnership, hopefully we’ll be getting more IP out there with different builders and different ownership within our large catalog of IP.”
Interoperability has made a lot of progress in recent years and that’s one of the goals of Coinbase’s Base. Drewitz said Coinbase does a good job of making it easier to play and transact in different types of Web3 games and integrate with Web2 platforms as well.
“I think this is the natural evolution where an underlying technology is going to heighten the experience,” he said. “From an ease of use standpoint, that’s really where cross-chain comes in. We don’t talk about HTML on the web anymore, or web servers on the internet. The main selling point is the game.”
Drewitz hopes Atari can help tame the wild west image of Web3 so people will be comfortable and understand it is safe and enjoyable to be on the chains.
“That’s what Coinbase is really pioneering, especially with all this Onchain Summer that they’re doing. And that’s what we’ve seen the last few years. That’s why we wanted to be a part of it last year. And that’s what we’re seeing this year,” Drewitz said. “They’re really making it accessible and enjoyable. And so that’s the next step. And then once people understand that it’s not all bad, and it’s fun, and it’s easy, then they can continue to do more on it.”
Players will get benefits that come from the blockchain purchases, such as Easter eggs and exclusive items, Drewitz said. There will be some exclusive Easter eggs. Atari is running the summer camp based on the old 1980s Atari computer games where players were treated to retro experiences.
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