New Content Comes To Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

Here is something fans of retro gaming should love.

Atari and developer Digital Eclipse are excited to share a significant addition to Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. The Wider World of Atari, which includes 19 playable games and eight video segments in a completely new timeline, takes a series of deep dives into stories from Atari history, showing how Atari continued to influence creators and fans over the decades. The DLC will be available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Series S|X, and PlayStation 4 & 5. Owners of the original game on the Atari VCS will receive the DLC content for free as part of an update.

The 19 new games will be revealed by MetalJesusRocks, who has partnered with Atari for the announce, with a video on YouTube at 10:00AM EST this Wednesday, September 25.

Here’s what to expect in the new DLC expansion:

• Unusual and underappreciated Atari 2600 innovations as well as hidden gems from the 1980s
• A spotlight on the artist Evelyn Seto, who helped create Atari’s iconic logo
• The community’s quest for unreleased prototypes and the preservation of gaming history
• Archival and contemporary interviews from employees, fans, and homebrew developers

The Wider World of Atari includes new interviews, vintage ads, historical artifacts, and more have all been researched and presented with Digital Eclipse’s signature style. Highlights from the new timeline include unusual and underappreciated innovations and hidden gems from the late 1980s; a spotlight on the artist Evelyn Seto, who helped create the iconic “Fuji” Atari logo; Pong creator Al Alcorn explaining the birth of Breakout; and an exploration of the fan base’s role in discovering unreleased prototypes, creating “homebrew” games, and preserving Atari history.

Fans attending Portland Retro Gaming Expo (PRGE) can learn more about the DLC and the Atari 50: Anniversary Celebration project on Sunday, September 29 during a panel discussion featuring Digital Eclipse Producer Chris Kohler, Atari VP of Games Ethan Stearns, and Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell.

A second DLC entitled The First Console War will be released globally on November 8, in concert with the physical release of Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Expanded Edition on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 for $39.99. The physical release contains the original game and both DLCs.

A Steelbook version for Nintendo Switch, which will include Atari 2600 art cards, miniature arcade marquee signs, an Al Alcorn Replica Syzygy Co. business card, will retail for $49.99 USD.