Atari is rebooting Alone in the Dark and Haunted House

Horror games are in the midst of a bit of a renaissance, thanks to titles like Outlast, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, The Evil Within, Alien: Isolation and countless more. So it's no surprise Atari has announced reboots for two horror properties in the form of Alone in the Dark: Illumination and Haunted House.

First off, would you look at those names. Remember when video game names could be relied on to desribe exactly the contents of the game? Originally released on Atari 2600 back in 1982, Haunted House was set in a haunted house. Flash forward 32 years, and the newly announced Haunted House reboot, in development at Anna studio Dreampainters, will presumably also take place in a haunted house. Or else it better. No details are available except for a mailing list sign up , so we await news of its setting with anticipation.

Meanwhile, details are similarly scant regarding Alone in the Dark: Illumination, with only a mailing list sign up page available at present, though it's in development at a studio called Pure. Both games are expected to release by the end of 2014. Even the question of whether these games are even in development for PC is up in the air: no platforms are indicated.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.