New Atari 50 DLC Proves Intellivision Deal Is Paying Off

Digital Eclipse’s Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration provides an impressive and thorough retrospective of the iconic games that Atari has produced over the years, complete with playable titles and engaging content. The collection has already received its first downloadable content, The Wider World of Atari, which introduced additional games. Now, it is on the verge of adding a second DLC due to a strategic acquisition this past year.

On Friday, Atari revealed The First Console War, a DLC focused on its initial battle with Intellivision, specifically highlighting a notable aspect of that rivalry. In the 1980s, Mattel was responsible for publishing games on the Intellivision. At one point, they decided to offer versions of these console-exclusive games for the Atari 2600 under the M Network brand. The upcoming DLC will include 19 of these titles, launching on November 8 for multiple platforms, including PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4 for those who already own Atari 50.

You may come across some unfamiliar titles. For instance, have you heard of Astroblast? It’s not uncommon for games to have different names when Mattel transitioned them. Luckily, the names used for the Atari M Network are closely aligned with the originals.

After acquiring Intellivision in May, Atari has effectively concluded the longest-running console war in the gaming industry, gaining access to a library of over 200 games, which includes more than a dozen titles from the M Network library. Following this acquisition, Atari CEO Wade Rosen expressed the company’s intent to distribute the games and explore opportunities to create new titles based on these intellectual properties.

Digital Eclipse, also owned by Atari, specializes in creating video games that serve as both retro remasters and interactive museum experiences, and The First Console War will adhere to this tradition. This DLC will feature interviews with M Network programmer Jane Terjung, game historians Leonard Herman and Mike Mika, as well as former Atari developers David Crane and Garry Kitchen. A new timeline outlining this critical period in gaming history will also be included.

Check out the complete list of games included:

• 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

Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly referred to a game titled Anteater; it should have been called Antbear.