Update: Atari has provided Shacknews with a statement, saying that Eden Games is not closed. However, the company does confirm that it has "divested" from the studio: "Our earnings statement contained a report about the divestment of Eden Studios. We want to make it clear that the studio has not closed and that we will continue to support the console and PC games of Eden Studios, notably Test Drive Unlimited 2, while this process is underway. The divestment is in line with our previously stated strategy of exploiting our popular intellectual property library on mobile devices, where he have seen strong initial success, and via online games and licensing."

Original Story: Test Drive Unlimited developer Eden Games was as good as dead after owner Atari laid off most of the staff last year, but now it's official. In its financial results for last year, filed this week, the publisher confirmed it's been selling off what assets remain.

Read more: TDU2 was received poorly »

Indie startup Blossom Minds has announced its existence, formed from former members of Test Drive Unlimited 2 and Alone in the Dark developer Eden Games (via Eurogamer). The French studio has been hit by massive layoffs from owner Atari, which prompted a one-day "symbolic" strike in May.

"We are done with AAA titles; let us bring the OOOOOOH! instead," Blossom said in today's statement. Read more »

Eden Games, developer of the Test Drive Unlimited series and Alone in the Dark reboot, is on a "symbolic day strike" today to protest parent company Atari's plans to lay off a whopping 51 of the French studio's 80 employees.

"Eden Games pays now for Atari mismanagement," charges a statement posted by one of the strikers on the Test Drive Unlimited 2 forums. Read more »

While some crude, loutish companies apologise for game bugs over Twitter or in forum posts, Test Drive Unlimited 2 developer Eden and publisher Atari have taken the civilised route of addressing the racer's "issues" in an open letter and offering a free downloadable content pack.

"Thank you for your continued support and feedback," opens the letter addressed to "the TDU2 community," going on to say that players have "been amazing and helped us quickly identify a number of issues." As a token of appreciation, the 'Exploration Pack' DLC pack, which contains the Lancia Stratos version Rallye and 1969 Dodge Charger cars, will be released for free. Previous TDU2 DLC cars have cost $1 each. Read more »

The sequel to Eden Game's open-world racer Test Drive Unlimited (2006) will hit PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Fall 2010, publisher Atari announced today.

Among the new features of Test Drive Unlimited 2 are "vehicle damage, weather effects, day and night cycles...a brand new island...all-new race types, vehicle classes," plus an "always live" blend of single-player and multiplayer. Explains Atari: "A revamped single player narrative mode can be played offline or as part of the multiplayer experience." Read more »