iam8Bit, the Video Game History Foundation, Mega Cat Studios, and Retrotainment Games are teaming up to finish and release a long-abandoned NES game by developer Chris Oberth on cartridge, with 100% of the profits supporting the VGHF's "mission to preserve and celebrate the history of video games."
In case the name doesn't immediately ring a bell, Oberth is the developer behind Stern Electronics' 1982 coin-op Anteater, as well as other arcade games from the early to mid-80s like Minefield, Tazzmania, Armored Car, and Rescue.
He got his start in the late '70s developing commercial titles for the Apple II computer, and later worked on games for companies like Datamost, Epyx, and Mindscape.
Oberth created Xcavator, the NES game in question, while at the Illinois-based developer Incredible Technologies (the company behind coin-op games like Golden Tee Golf and Big Buck Hunter) in 1991, with the title appearing to be a sci-fi-themed project about scavenging space stations (judging from the key art and title). It was shopped around to several publishers at the time in the early 90s, but was eventually put to one side and quietly archived by the developer, alongside other uncompleted games.
Usually, this is where a story like this would end. However, following Oberth's passing in 2012, his family ended up donating the source code to the Video Game History Foundation, with the non-profit later rebuilding the title from Oberth's development archives, before deciding to partner with Mega Cat Studios to help finish the project.
The cartridge release, which is being called Xcavator 2025, is available to pre-order now from iam8Bit's website, and costs $100 (a little steeper than your typical retro release, but given the funds are going to the VGHF, at least it's all going to a good cause).
It comes with a new 14-page manual, box, and label designed by Max58, Lost in Cult, and historian Kate Willaert, and is scheduled to ship in Q2 2026.
Frank Cifaldi, the founder and director of the Video Game History Foundation, said in a press release: “The original Xcavator prototype is a rare glimpse at the struggles of an indie developer trying to break into the console industry during the 8-bit golden age. The world wasn’t ready for it in 1991, but thanks to Oberth saving his work—and to his family for getting it into archivist hands—2026 will be the year that his work will finally see the light of day. This is an important piece of game history, and we’re proud to be able to raise awareness for it with the help of everyone involved.”
This is the second of Oberth's games that the Video Game History Foundation has released in this manner, with the company previously recovering and publishing an unreleased NES title he worked on based on Days of Thunder as a limited cartridge release to raise funds for Oberth's widow, before dropping the source code on GitHub.