Video game pioneer Atari has engaged Seattle's Barokas PR as it plots its latest comeback attempt, a bid to leverage its iconic history in the online era.

centipedeThe "Pong" pioneer spent 2013 in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection but said June 18 that it has a new corporate strategy to produce online video games, apps, casinos, video content. Licensing is also expected play a key role as its portfolio of more than 200 classic games "Asteroids" and "Centipede" will be rented out to adorn everything from slot machines to t-shirts.

Sixteen-year-old Barokas PR is led by CEO Howie Barokas, a veteran of Imagio, the storied Seattle tech advertising and PR firm that was sold to JWT in 2000.

Paris-based Atari, which also has offices in New York and was founded in 1972, recently reintroduced "RollerCoaster Tycoon" and "Haunted House" as mobile games, and online multiplayer game "Minimum."

TechCrunch's Matt Burns wrote June 18 of Atari's gambit: "Successfully emerging from bankruptcy with its decades of trademarks intact has put the company in a great position, and it seems primed to capitalize on this fresh start."

FTI Consulting advised Atari through its 2013 Chapter 11 filing.