One of 2022’s best games was Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection, which was a Criterion-level celebration of the company’s history by developer Digital Eclipse. The game featured 50 classic Atari games, along with an interactive documentary that featured plenty of archival documents to go through along with well-produced videos. Now the game is getting an Atari 50 Expanded Edition called Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Expanded Edition.
What’s new in the Atari 50 Expanded Edition?
The Atari 50 Expanded Edition will feature 39 additional games. A full list of the additions wasn’t detailed, but fans can expect some M Network sports games. Additionally, gamers can experience two new timelines to the documentary portion of the game, one covering a look at iconic games like Breakout and Berzerk, plus another detailing the console war between Atari 2600 and Intellivision. For those that already own the game, the new content will be available as DLC.
Here are descriptions of the two new documentary timelines and what to expect from them in the Atari 50 Expanded Edition:
- The Wider World of Atari timeline, which includes 19 playable games and eight video segments, takes a series of deep dives into stories from Atari history, showing how Atari continued to influence creators and fans over the decades. 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 a deep dive into Stern Electronics’ robot-blasting Berzerk; 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.
- The First Console War timeline, which includes 20 playable games and half-dozen video segments, tells the story of the first major console war in the gaming industry between the Atari 2600 and Mattel’s Intellivision. The team at Digital Eclipse curates an exploration of the rivalry, including Mattel’s quixotic decision to create games for the competing Atari 2600. Highlights include a selection of M Network games, including some fan-favorites; a mix of Atari and M Network sports games, and some rare Atari 2600 and 5200 prototypes. New interview features include former Intellivision game director Don Daglow, M Network programmer Jane Terjung, Activision’s David Crane and Garry Kitchen, homebrew programmer Dennis Debro, and historians Leonard Herman and Mike Mika.
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Expanded Edition will be released on October 25 for Atari VCS, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation 4 & 5. A physical release will come to Switch and PS5 for $39.99. The Nintendo Switch version will also see a SteelBook release for $49.99 that also includes Atari 2600 art cards, miniature arcade marquee signs, and an AI Alcorn Replica Syzygy Co. business card.
