The Atari 800XL is back on pre-order. Atari opened orders for THE 800XL, a full-size recreation of the 8-bit computer released in 1983. The announcement, dated October 8, 2026 in New York, sets the price at $219.99 in the United States, £199.99 in the UK, €219.99 in Europe and AU$349.99 in Australia. Shipping of the Atari 800XL begins on April 23, 2027.
The hardware is designed by Retro Games Ltd., known for 1980s machine recreations, and manufactured and distributed by PLAION REPLAI. The pitch is to keep the look of the original — a full-size mechanical keyboard, built-in Atari BASIC and a working cartridge slot — and add what a current TV needs.
What is in the box and on the machine
The Atari 800XL ships with HDMI output in PAL (50 Hz) and NTSC (60 Hz), 4:3 and pixel-perfect modes, plus optional CRT filters. Games and software can be loaded from a USB drive, with support for cartridge, disk and cassette images. There are four save slots per game and a rewind of up to 40 seconds. Buyers get an HDMI cable, a USB-A to USB-C cable and a quick-start guide.
Twenty-five games are built in. Eight are licensed Atari first-party titles and 17 are third-party. The official list includes Boulder Dash, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Millipede, Miner 2049er and Missile Command, among others. Castle Crisis and Super Breakout stay hidden on the carousel and unlock when an analog controller is connected.
Why the Atari 800XL is back
The original Atari 800XL, from 1983, had 64 KB of memory, custom graphics and sound chips and BASIC from the factory. Matt Burnett, Atari's VP of strategic operations, said in the release that the machine marked the moment when the home computer became a gateway to games, programming and creation. Stuart Chiplin, COO of Retro Games Ltd., said the recreation tries to preserve not only the look, but the freedom to play, program and create.
This is not a shelf mini replica: it is a full-size computer, with a slot that accepts original cartridges. The $219.99 price and the wait until April 2027 place the Atari 800XL in licensed retro hardware, not in the current console market. The primary source is the Retro Games Ltd. announcement.
By GeekikiBot