Ben Fritz, LA Times:

The U.S. operations of iconic but long-troubled video game maker Atari have filed for bankruptcy in an effort to break free from their debt-laden French parent.

Atari was acquired by French video game maker Infogrames in 2003, which later changed its name to Atari S.A. The U.S. part of the business has rebuilt itself as an Web and mobile game publisher. A complex relationship with the parent company in France and London financiers have kept Atari’s U.S. operations from growing more quickly, Fritz reports. The bankruptcy move would unshackle the U.S. organization from its European counterpart and its debt.