Skip to main content

Atari classic Missile Command gets a revamp this November

Atari is rereleasing Missile Command: Recharged, a 2020 reimagining of one of its classic franchises. The game will receive a significant “2.0” overhaul that features a challenge mode, new visuals, and more. It’ll launch on November 1 for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Atari VCS.

Missile Command: Recharged is Coming November 1

Missile Command: Recharged was the first game in Atari’s recent Recharged line, which aims to modernize its properties. The original release, which retailed for a low $3, gave the classic game a neon visual boost and a power-up system. In a somewhat unusual move, Atari has reworked the game to the point that it’ll be rereleasing it as a new product entirely at a $10 price point.

Ships fly around the screen in Missile Command: Recharged.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“The more Recharged games we released, the farther we pushed them, adding challenges, boss battles, creating more of a progression and storyline,” Atari CEO Wade Rosen tells Digital Trends. “The Recharged Series has evolved. When we look back at Missile Command: Recharged, we see an opportunity to revisit the game and apply everything we had learned over the last six Recharged releases to one of our favorite classics.”

The biggest addition to the new release is a challenge mode, which brings 32 new levels to the game, as well as a new final boss. The aesthetics have also been reworked, with expanded visuals and a new soundtrack by composer Megan McDuffee. The release will also bring the game to Xbox and PlayStation consoles, and Rosen notes that it’ll come to “a few subscription services” as well.

Those who bought the original $3 release will get a 30% discount on the new version. Users won’t lose access to the original version when the new one launches.

The Atari Recharged series continues to expand with games like the recently released Yars: Recharged. According to Rosen, Atari plans to continue the game line over the coming years. The CEO noted the appeal of the games and their classic pick-up-and-play nature.

“I think people are craving a return to that kind of gameplay,” Rosen says. “That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place for epic campaigns that require 100 hours to complete. But I sense that there is also a need for games that allow you to jump into a session with a friend, or a family member, and enjoy, no matter if you play for 20 minutes or two hours.”

Missile Command: Recharged launches on November 1 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Atari VCS.

Editors' Recommendations

Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…
Counter-Strike 2 is now available on Steam for free after surprise launch
A team groups up in Counter-Strike 2.

With little more than a slight tease beforehand, Valve just launched Counter-Strike 2 on Steam.
Counter-Strike 2 - Launch Trailer
Counter-Strike is Valve's long-running competitive multiplayer shooter series. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has stayed near the top of Steam's player count charts ever since it launched in 2012. After over a decade of dominance, Valve first announced Counter-Strike 2 as a free, sequel-level upgrade to Global Offensive earlier this year. After some slight teases earlier in the month, Valve finally decided to surprise launch the game on September 27.
Counter-Strike 2 builds upon Global Offensive in Valve's newer Source 2 game engine. Outside of the obvious visual upgrades that change brings, Counter-Strike 2 adds to its predecessor with a new CS Rating system, overhauled maps, and tweaks to core mechanics like smoke grenades and the tick rate at which the first-person shooter operates. Valve also promises that the game features "upgraded Community Workshop tools," so we should get some entertaining Counter-Strike 2 mods.

Valve intends for players to smoothly transition from Global Offensive to Counter-Strike 2 as the game has simply updated to make the transition, and all items players obtained in the former work in the latter. Hopefully, this approach works out better for Valve than it did for Blizzard with Overwatch 2 last year. 
Counter-Strike 2 is available now on PC via Steam. It's a free-to-play game, although players can buy a Prime Status Upgrade for $15 that grants buyers the titular moniker. Having Prime Status grants exclusive items, item drops, and weapon cases and makes the game more likely to matchmake you with other Prime Status Counter-Strike 2 players.

Read more
PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is stepping down, with successor yet to be named
Playstation CEO and president, Jim Ryan, stands in front of a blue wall with Playstation button symbols illuminated.

Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan is retiring after 30 years. The PlayStation boss will formally leave his role in March 2024 with a successor yet to be named.

Jim Ryan has been working with PlayStation since 1994 when he joined Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Since then, he's become the key figurehead for the PlayStation brand, similar to Phil Spencer's role within Xbox. His most recent success has come from the launch of the PlayStation 5, which has already surpassed a 40 million unit milestone. Today, Sony announced that Ryan plans to retire from the role.

Read more
Dragon’s Dogma 2 delivers exactly what you’re expecting: more Dragon’s Dogma
A dragon roars in Dragon's Dogma 2.

One year ago, I knew next to nothing about Dragon’s Dogma. If I was aware of it when it launched in 2012, I’d long since forgotten about it amid a decade’s worth of games. Who could blame me? Capcom didn’t exactly turn the fantasy-action RPG into one of its go-to IPs despite some impressive sales figures.

Dragon's Dogma 2 - 9 Minute Gameplay Deep Dive | Tokyo Game Show 2023

Read more