The Atari 50 console expansion will include 19 additional games on November 8.
Atari and Digital Eclipse have shared information about The First Console War, an expansion of Atari 50 that includes 19 additional games and eight new video segments.
Atari and developer Digital Eclipse have revealed details about the upcoming paid expansion for Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, a collection that combines various games from the company with a documentary narrating its history over 50 years. This new downloadable content, titled The First Console War, focuses on the competition with Mattel's Intellivision, which was Atari's first true rival in the console market.
The package will include 19 additional games and eight video segments that explore this rivalry, as well as the factors that ultimately led Mattel to develop games for Atari systems. It is emphasized that the expansion will feature additional interviews, vintage advertisements, and unseen historical artifacts that help build the narrative around the confrontation between Atari and Mattel. Interestingly, Atari declared itself the winner in this contest by acquiring the Intellivision brand earlier this year.
Among the new content are prototypes and other games that have never been released until now. The complete list of titles to be added is as follows:
- Air Raiders — 2600 M Network
- Antbear — 2600 M Network (unreleased, based on Stern IP)
- Armor Ambush — 2600 M Network
- Astroblast — 2600 M Network
- Frogs & Flies — 2600 M Network
- International Soccer — 2600 M Network
- Dark Cavern — 2600 M Network
- Star Strike — 2600 M Network
- Super Challenge Baseball — 2600 M Network
- Super Challenge Football — 2600 M Network
- Swordfight — 2600 M Network (rare, unreleased)
- Sea Battle — 2600 M Network (rare, unreleased)
- Tower of Mystery (unreleased prototype, recently rescued)
- Video Pinball — 2600
- Basketball — 2600
- Hardball — Atari 8-bit (XE)
- Final Legacy (prototype) — 5200
- Xari Arena — Atari 8-bit
- Desert Falcon — 7800
The Last Console War follows a previous expansion called The Wider World of Atari, which arrived in September and added another 19 games to the collection. With these two expansions combined, Atari 50 will feature approximately 130 games in total.
Those who already own Atari 50 on platforms such as PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 will be able to access The Last Console War starting November 8. For Atari VCS users, the DLC will be offered as a free update early next year.
Additionally, those interested in purchasing a package that includes both the base game and both expansions can opt for Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Expanded Edition, which will also be available on November 8. The physical edition for Switch and PS5 will be priced at $40, while a steelbook edition for Switch, which will include art cards from the Atari 2600 and other goodies, will cost $50.