What is the Ataribox and how can I get one? Ataribox release date rumours and news

Retro gaming icon Atari is making a return to the console market with a machine the company has dubbed the Ataribox.

After a surprise announcement earlier this year, Atari has kept tight-lipped about what its comeback console actually entails. Here we’ve collected together everything we know so far, along with a few educated guesses about what could be in store from the pioneering games company.

What is the Ataribox? 

In June 2017, Atari released a barebones website for the Ataribox. It included a short YouTube video (below), showing a wood-panelled console and a note hinting that more details would be “coming soon”. There’s also an option to subscribe for more news when it is announced.

Since then more, albeit vague, details have surfaced: “We’ve been blown away by the feedback since the teaser release, and […] we’re excited to share an exclusive first look at the Ataribox design with you,” the company wrote in an email to those who had subscribed. “Our objective is to create a new product that stays true to our heritage, while appealing to both old and new fans of Atari.”

It turns out there will be two Atari boxes: one with wooden panelling, modelled on the 1980s-era Atari 2600, and one with a black plastic casing. No real details have been given about what will be inside these respective boxes, but the signs are that it will be a retro machine akin to Nintendo’s recent NES and SNES reskins.

There’s little to go on in terms of hardware, except the fact that the Ataribox will have an HDMI output, four USB inputs and “PC technology”, but we’d predict the end result to be an all-in-one device that comes bundled with classic Atari games, and a choice of two cases depending on how much you’re willing to pay.

Ataribox release date

Atari has yet to give an official release date for the Ataribox, but if the Ataribox is indeed home for an all-in-one collection of Atari hits, we’d put money on a launch before Christmas.

There’s also another factor to consider in the shape of Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to the sci-fi classic. Trailers for that film feature huge Atari advertisements, so it’s likely the company will want to leverage some of that attention towards its new device. With the new Blade Runner premiering 7 October, that fits in with the pre-Christmas shopping push.