Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is getting more games crammed into it (Update)

[Update: Now that the update is out today, we have a list of all the games that are going to be part of it:

• Adventure II (homebrew) 2600
• Bowling 2600
• Double Dunk 2600
• Maze Craze 2600
• Miniature Golf 2600
• MotoRodeo 2600
• Aquaventure (prototype) 2600
• Save Mary (prototype) 2600
• Super Football 2600
• Return to Haunted House (homebrew) 2600
• Circus Atari 2600
• Warbirds Lynx

That’s quite the assortment. Two titles are homebrew, two are prototypes that have now been released elsewhere, a bunch of them are actually pretty awful, and one of them is Warbirds on Lynx. I hope there is some supplemental behind-the-scenes information on Miniature Golf. Our original story follows.]

Atari has announced that 2022’s Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration will be getting free updates, starting with one on December 5th. What kind of updates? The best kind. The collection is getting more games.

Atari 50 isn’t just another compilation of Atari’s old games. As the name implies, it’s a celebration of them, providing deep background information through interviews and behind-the-scenes documents. It was Digital Eclipse’s first test run of the absolutely incredible foundation of the Golden Masters series that started with The Making of Karateka. This may sound like a lot of marketing-friendly hyperbole, but as someone who loves game history and preservation, I find these collections to be transformative. I am sincerely enthusiastic about it.

The first update will be bringing 12 additional Atari 2600 games, which may not sound too exciting, but it’s stated to have “a mix of prototypes, homebrews, and official titles.” Assuming they don’t mean just Save Mary and Berzerk Enhanced Edition alongside 10 of the system’s many dregs, that’s pretty exciting. Sort of. Another suite of Jaguar and Lynx games would grab me a little tighter.

I’m also not sure why they didn’t just tell us what the 12 games are.

The business of retro

But that might still happen! Atari says that this update is “the first of many planned by Atari and its partner in video game preservation Digital Eclipse.” And furthermore, these games will come with all the behind-the-scenes interviews and concept art that is expected from the collection. The press release does not confirm that future updates will be free. It seems like it suggests that they will be, but that’s just me speculating on it.

This follows news that Atari is acquiring Digital Eclipse. The new direction of Atari involves looking at its back catalogue through new lenses. For me personally, I think it’s pretty cool. I’m not all that interested in playing Adventure again, but if I can learn some history in the process, I suddenly have a new appreciation for it.

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is available on PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5. The title update will be available for free on December 5, 2023.