diff --git a/packages/flame_fire_atlas/lib/flame_fire_atlas.dart b/packages/flame_fire_atlas/lib/flame_fire_atlas.dart
index 1f80196bb68..8dcefee734e 100644
--- a/packages/flame_fire_atlas/lib/flame_fire_atlas.dart
+++ b/packages/flame_fire_atlas/lib/flame_fire_atlas.dart
@@ -270,24 +270,40 @@ class FireAtlas {
   }
 
   /// Loads the [FireAtlas] from an asset.
+  ///
+  /// Use [encoded] = false to load the asset from a json file.
   static Future<FireAtlas> loadAsset(
     String fileName, {
     AssetsCache? assets,
     Images? images,
+    bool encoded = true,
   }) async {
     final assetsCache = assets ?? Flame.assets;
-
-    final bytes = await assetsCache.readBinaryFile(fileName);
-    final atlas = FireAtlas.deserialize(bytes);
+    final FireAtlas atlas;
+    if (encoded) {
+      final bytes = await assetsCache.readBinaryFile(fileName);
+      atlas = FireAtlas.deserializeBytes(bytes);
+    } else {
+      final json = await assetsCache.readJson(fileName);
+      atlas = FireAtlas.deserializeJson(json);
+    }
     await atlas.loadImage(images: images);
     return atlas;
   }
 
   /// Serializes this instances into a byte array.
-  List<int> serialize() {
+  ///
+  /// If [encoded] is set to true,
+  /// it will return a gzip compressed byte array,
+  /// otherwise it will return a string byte array.
+  List<int> serialize({bool encoded = true}) {
     final raw = jsonEncode(toJson());
 
     final stringBytes = utf8.encode(raw);
+    if (!encoded) {
+      return stringBytes;
+    }
+
     final gzipBytes = GZipEncoder().encode(stringBytes);
 
     if (gzipBytes == null) {
@@ -296,11 +312,15 @@ class FireAtlas {
     return gzipBytes;
   }
 
+  /// Reads a [FireAtlas] instance from a json file.
+  factory FireAtlas.deserializeJson(Map<String, dynamic> rawJson) =>
+      FireAtlas._fromJson(rawJson);
+
   /// Reads a [FireAtlas] instance from a byte array.
-  factory FireAtlas.deserialize(List<int> bytes) {
+  factory FireAtlas.deserializeBytes(List<int> bytes) {
     final unzippedBytes = GZipDecoder().decodeBytes(bytes);
     final unzippedString = utf8.decode(unzippedBytes);
-    return FireAtlas._fromJson(
+    return FireAtlas.deserializeJson(
       jsonDecode(unzippedString) as Map<String, dynamic>,
     );
   }
diff --git a/packages/flame_fire_atlas/pubspec.yaml b/packages/flame_fire_atlas/pubspec.yaml
index a43fd986b99..5aa9fa040ca 100644
--- a/packages/flame_fire_atlas/pubspec.yaml
+++ b/packages/flame_fire_atlas/pubspec.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 name: flame_fire_atlas
-description: Easy to use texture atlases for the flame engine created with the fire atlas editor
+description: Easy to use texture atlases for the flame engine created with the
+  fire atlas editor
 version: 1.3.8
 homepage: https://github.com/flame-engine/flame/tree/main/packages/flame_fire_atlas
 funding:
@@ -12,14 +13,14 @@ environment:
   flutter: ">=3.3.0"
 
 dependencies:
-  archive: ^3.3.7
+  archive: ^3.3.9
   flame: ^1.8.2
   flutter:
     sdk: flutter
 
 dev_dependencies:
-  dartdoc: ^6.2.2
+  dartdoc: ^6.3.0
   flame_lint: ^1.1.0
   flutter_test:
     sdk: flutter
-  mocktail: ^0.3.0
+  mocktail: ^1.0.0
diff --git a/packages/flame_fire_atlas/test/flame_fire_atlas_test.dart b/packages/flame_fire_atlas/test/flame_fire_atlas_test.dart
index d6a19703d79..159ea78b5e8 100644
--- a/packages/flame_fire_atlas/test/flame_fire_atlas_test.dart
+++ b/packages/flame_fire_atlas/test/flame_fire_atlas_test.dart
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ void main() {
 
       final bytes = atlas.serialize();
 
-      final copy = FireAtlas.deserialize(bytes);
+      final copy = FireAtlas.deserializeBytes(bytes);
       expect(copy.id, atlas.id);
     });