Ziggurat acquires catalog of Amiga legends Rainbow Arts

Graffiti Man is stoked

Publisher Ziggurat Interactive has announced that it has acquired the back catalog of legendary Commodore Amiga game publisher Rainbow Arts. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the deal reportedly includes somewhere in the region of 80 classic titles from the golden home computing days of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Rainbow Arts — the logo of which is sure to bring memories flooding back to those of a certain age — was a game publisher founded in Germany in 1984 by Marc Ullrich and Thomas Meiertoberens. Over the following 10 years, the company would release a bevy of fun and often off-the-wall releases for home computers, most notably the Amiga platform.

Much like fellow Europeans Infogrames, Rainbow Arts focused less on coin-op conversions and licensed titles, and more on unique releases from home developers. Perhaps Rainbow Arts’ most notable releases include the lawyer-baiting The Great Giana Sisters (1987), the delightfully surreal puzzler Spherical, shooter X-Out, and Factor 5’s excellent and hugely successful Turrican trilogy.

Ziggurat Interactive SVP of business Michael Devine spoke of the publisher’s excitement for the acquisition. “Each game released during that time frame — mainly made for the C64, Amiga, and PC — evokes memories of 16-bit wonders, colorful graphics, and playful challenges the moment you see the rainbow logo appear,” said Devine. “We can’t wait to revitalize these games and share them with today’s classic gaming fans.”

It’s an unpredictable purchase, but an intriguing one. And hopefully, Ziggurat will find a steady and solid distribution method to open up this specific segment of classic old-school gaming to new audiences.