The full story of Atari told by the people who created its games and culture.

Atari Inc.: Business Is Fun goes behind the company that became synonymous with the rise of video games. Researched over nearly eight years, the book draws on thousands of documents, hundreds of interviews, and access to materials that were previously unavailable, offering an unparalleled look inside Atari at its peak and decline.

Spanning 800 pages, including nearly 300 pages of rare photographs, internal memos, and court documents, the book traces Atari’s journey from its origins in 1969 as a collaboration between an engineer and a visionary, to its rise as a multibillion dollar powerhouse, and finally to its collapse during the video game crash of 1984. Throughout, it focuses on the people behind the company, sharing their personal stories and insights.

The book covers the creation of Atari’s most iconic games and products, the story of Atari’s own research facility often compared to Xerox PARC, Steve Jobs’s time at Atari and the development of Breakout with contributions from Steve Wozniak, the origins of what would become Chuck E Cheese, and the internal decisions that led to Atari’s downfall and its impact on the wider industry. Told directly through the voices of those who worked there, it presents a detailed and candid account of a company that shaped an entire era of entertainment.

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