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It's been just shy of a month since Plaion and Retro Games Ltd announced their plans to resurrect the Atari 800 XL, and it looks like everything is going according to schedule (so far, at least).
Yesterday, Retro Games Ltd announced a "major milestone" on its social media, stating that THE800XL has "gone gold", meaning "Firmware development for THE800XL is now officially complete" and the hardware is now in the final stages "ahead of manufacturing."
The latest in a long line of modern recreations of retro machines from both Plaion and Retro Games Ltd, following machines like THEA500 Mini, THE400 Mini, and THEC64Mini, THE800XL is described as a faithfully designed version of the 1983 computer, which comes with 25 built-in games (including Asteroids, Crystal Castles, Centipede, and more), a full-size mechanical keyboard, a working cartridge slot, HDMI output, and other modern quality-of-life features.
Pre-orders opened last month for £199.99, with shipping scheduled to begin April 27th, 2027. Provided there are no hiccups between then and now with the manufacturing, it looks like it could potentially hit that date, with the company reflecting proudly on the journey so far:
"It's taken a lot of hard work from everyone involved to get us to this point," wrote Retro Games Ltd. "And it's fantastic to see the project coming together. There's still work ahead, but we're getting ever closer to bringing the Atari 800XL back into the hands of a new generation of fans and those who remember it first time around. The next stop? Production line! The countdown is on!"
You can pre-order yours here.
Here's the full list of the 25 games included with it:
- Airball
- Asteroids
- Basketball
- BattleZone
- Berzerk
- Boulder Dash
- Bristles
- Capture the Flag
- Centipede
- Crystal Castles
- Elektraglide
- Encounter
- Flip and Flop
- Henry’s House
- Hover Bovver
- Lee
- M.U.L.E.
- Millipede
- Miner 2049er
- Missile Command
- O’Riley’s Mine
- The Seven Cities of Gold
- Star Raiders II
- Wavy Navy
- Whoomp!
As we reported last month, two additional titles - Castle Crisis and Super Breakout - are hidden on the game carousel and can be unlocked by connecting an analogue controller.