Troubled gaming subsidiary (who were, until just now, only part-owned by Atari and Infogrames) has been wholly-consumed by the parent firm in a deal worth 11 million USD.

Infogrames can now - as mooted by president Phil Harrison previously - unite the Atari brand across the globe and publish as one company. This should give the embattled game maker a bit more clout.

The Atari US management team remain in place, but they will be steered by Harrison, as well as CEO David Gardner, formerly of EA-fame.

The purchase will allow the company to reduce overall costs, and will open up the US more to distribution of the company's European-made games. New American-developed games are also possible, we hear.

Shares were up after the announcement late last week. More soon.

By Luke Guttridge