Time Warner Interactive (TWI) was a video game developing and publishing division within Time Warner. It was formed in 1993 after Time Warner acquired a controlling interest in Atari Games, which was already partly held by Time Warner. It was active until 1996 when WMS Industries, the owners of the Williams, Bally and Midway arcade brands, bought the company.
Time Warner Interactive was formed in 1984 as Warner New Media, and it was renamed to Time Warner Interactive Group in 1993.[3] In 1994, following the full acquisition of Atari Games by Time Warner, TWIG merged with Atari Games and its associated subsidiary Tengen to form Time Warner Interactive, which serve its functions as a video game and multimedia company.[4][5] In 1996, WMS Industries purchased it. Time Warner Interactive's home division, which was based in Milpitas, was previously known as Tengen, the consumer division of Atari Games, and it was extended to its existing Japanese division. Atari Games would continue to operate under its own name until March 29, 1996, when both it and Time Warner Interactive were bought by WMS Industries and was subsequently absorbed into Williams Entertainment (later renamed Midway Home Entertainment), while Atari Games became part of Midway, and eventually was renamed Midway Games West in 1999.
Time Warner also bought the UK publisher Renegade Software in 1995 and kept it independent as Warner Interactive Entertainment, before merging with the European arm of TWI in 1996. Both subsidiaries were short-lived; Time Warner Interactive was formed from the Atari Games acquisition in 1993 and sold to WMS Industries on March 29, 1996,[6] while Time Warner Interactive Japan dissolved in the same year due to WMS not seeing the merit of having a Japanese division in Japan due to how very costly it is for Midway to have a Japanese video game studio in their hands in Lost Decade situation, and European division of Time Warner Interactive (including Renegade Software) existed only two years before being sold to GT Interactive in November 1996 (GT Interactive are best known for distribution of Doom II, Duke Nukem 3D, and Quake as shareware).[7] Several titles begin development by TWI, including Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, was eventually released by Williams Entertainment after the acquisition.[8]
Time Warner would eventually regain ownership of the library of the former Time Warner Interactive when they acquired the assets of Midway in 2009.
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