Atari and Activision are putting 39 classic 2600 games back on physical cartridges

Atari and Activision announced today, August 26, that they are releasing 39 classic Atari 2600 games on physical cartridges.

Activision made the best Atari games. The third-party publisher pushed the primitive hardware of the Atari 2600 further than anyone else, wringing out performance that the original engineers never thought possible. Now, for the first time in 44 years, these titles are getting an official physical production run.

According to Atari's announcement, the cartridges work on original Atari 2600 and 7800 consoles, along with the modern HDMI-equipped Atari 2600+ and 7800+. The rollout starts in November 2026.

Buyers have a few options. Twelve titles get $34.99 standard editions, which include a black cartridge and a full-color manual. The full 39-game library is split across four $249.99 deluxe box sets (Treasure, Speed, Secrets, and Victory), and if you want everything at once, a complete bundle costs $999.96.

The Treasure Collection lineup

The first deluxe drop is the Treasure Collection. It includes ten games: Pitfall!, River Raid, MegaMania, Dragster, Freeway, Grand Prix, Chopper Command, Sky Jinks, Barnstorming, and Dolphin. Each game in the deluxe sets comes with a colored cartridge, a woven patch, and an enamel pin.

Dragster and Freeway brought competitive racing and traffic-dodging to the system. Barnstorming and Chopper Command offered early takes on aviation action. Dolphin rounds out the initial ten with its underwater chase mechanics.

The patches are a direct nod to Activision's original marketing strategy. In the early 1980s, players who mailed in photographs of their high scores received custom embroidered patches in return.

The physical production of these cartridges is a major logistical effort. Most modern retro re-releases rely on digital compilations or dedicated emulation micro-consoles. Printing actual ROM chips on circuit boards and housing them in plastic shells requires a completely different manufacturing pipeline.

A 44-year grudge match ends

This collaboration resolves a historic industry rift. In 1979, programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, and Bob Whitehead left Atari after management refused to offer developer credits or royalties. They partnered with music executive Jim Levy to form Activision.

That departure created the first independent third-party video game developer. It also triggered a massive legal battle with Atari. Decades later, the two companies are finally working together to reissue the exact games that caused the initial split.

Pitfall! alone sold over four million copies after its 1982 release. Designer David Crane built a 255-screen jungle maze that established the foundation for the side-scrolling platformer genre.

River Raid, designed by Carol Shaw, is a pioneering vertical shoot 'em up that launched to massive commercial success. Shaw was one of the industry's first female game designers, and her work on River Raid pushed the 2600 hardware to generate a seemingly endless river environment.

The remaining three deluxe collections will arrive throughout 2027.