ATARI’s 800XL Is BACK—with a Working Cartridge Slot!

Atari’s classic 800XL home computer is making a comeback! Newly announced by Atari, THE 800XL from Retro Games Ltd. brings a full-sized mechanical keyboard, a working cartridge slot, and built-in Atari BASIC together with HDMI and modern gaming conveniences.

In this announcement editorial, I take a look at what’s been revealed, what stands out, and why bringing back the computer experience makes this more interesting than just another box of retro games.

THE 800XL includes 25 built-in games, USB loading for cartridge, disk, and cassette images, and announced software support for Atari’s 400, 800, XL, and XE computers, plus Atari 5200 games. Four save slots per game and up to 30 seconds of rewind bring some modern help to those vintage challenges.

U.S. preorders opened October 8, 2026, at $219.99, with shipping scheduled to begin April 23, 2027. The package includes a THECXSTICK joystick.

Did you grow up with an Atari computer? And would you use this for games, BASIC programming, or dusting off your old cartridges? Let me know in the comments!

Official announcement trailer:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gWrPhZ9cPU

#atari #retrogaming #vintage #genxgrownup

@atari

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