Homebrew Dev Acquires 'Tengen' Brand, Launches Unlicensed NES Game

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Remember Tengen? From 1987 to 1994, it was a subsidiary of Atari Games focused on creating unlicensed titles for the NES by attempting to circumvent Nintendo's licensee restrictions. After obtaining a copy of the Nintendo lock-out program, Tengen was well on its way to creating its own NES cartridges. However, Nintendo promptly sued Tengen which eventually led to the company being consolidated into Time Warner (Atari Games' parent company at the time).

Now, in 2024, one sole developer by the name of Jeff Silvers has managed to acquire the Tengen name and has used this to create a brand new company called 'Tengen Games'. According to the website, Silvers had conducted research in 2022 and discovered that nobody owned the Tengen name at the time, so simply began a lengthy process of officially registering it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The registration is now currently in the 'final stages' of completion.

Rather fittingly, Tengen Games' first title is an unlicensed NES game called Zed and Zee, an 8-bit arcade-style action platformer that can be purchased for the NES, Famicom, and Windows. There's no Switch release for this one for the time being, mind, but the company states that new titles for both retro and current-gen consoles are planned for the future.

How strange, right? It's certainly not the first company that comes to mind on our wishlist of defunct revivals, but if the name wasn't owned by anybody, then why not? It's a neat way of paying homage to a rather unique period in gaming history, so here's hoping Tengen actually sticks around this time.