Just over 40 years after the release of Atari 2600 bug shooter Yars’ Revenge, Atari announced Thursday that it’s bringing the game back with a remake called Yars: Recharged.
Developed by Adamvision Studios and SneakyBox, the game will give a modern look and feel to the 2600 classic, with new features such as a boss rush mode, new power-ups, and local co-op play. As you can see in the announcement trailer, Atari is playing up the game’s style and pacing, calling the game a “trance shooter.”
This isn’t the first time Atari has attempted to revive the Yars brand. Over the years, Atari has released an Xbox Live Arcade remake, a prequel on Facebook, and a sequel on the Atari Flashback 2 console, though none of them had the same impact as the original.
This announcement follows June’s reveal of Atari Mania, a package of Atari-themed microgames, and Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, a collection of more than 90 games from Atari’s history. As the latest in Atari’s recharged series, Yars: Recharged follows updated versions of Asteroids, Black Widow, Breakout, Centipede, and Gravitar.
Yars: Recharged is scheduled to arrive on Atari VCS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in Q3 2022, with the game’s Steam page listing an Aug. 23 date.
