Most retro console revivals hand you a small plastic box with HDMI out and a locked game list. Atari is doing something more deliberate.
The new 800XL, produced under license by Retro Games Ltd. and distributed by PLAION REPLAI, ships with a full-size mechanical keyboard, a working cartridge slot, and built-in Atari BASIC. Pre-orders are open now at $219.99 in the U.S., with shipping scheduled for April 23, 2027, according to the official Retro Games announcement.
This is a machine aimed at collectors, hobbyist programmers, and anyone who remembers typing code into an original 800XL and wants to do that again on a modern television.
What You’re Getting
A real keyboard, a working cartridge slot, and connectors your TV will recognize.
The hardware centers on a full-size mechanical keyboard designed to replicate the original 800XL’s layout. HDMI output supports PAL 50Hz and NTSC 60Hz modes, with 4:3 aspect ratio and pixel-perfect display options alongside CRT-style filters. Four USB-A ports handle additional controllers and storage; USB-C supplies power. The package includes THECXSTICK, a recreation of Atari’s classic CX40 joystick.
Built-in Atari BASIC means this functions as a programmable computer, not just a console.
No independent hands-on testing has been identified as of publication, so keyboard feel, display latency, and build quality remain unconfirmed until units reach reviewers.
Software, Cartridges, and the Catch
Twenty-five built-in games, USB loading, and one qualifier that deserves your attention.
Twenty-five games ship pre-installed, including Asteroids, Centipede, M.U.L.E., Star Raiders II, The Seven Cities of Gold, and Missile Command, among others. You can also load cartridge, disk, and cassette image files from a USB flash drive; Atari 5200 software is supported through the same method, as confirmed by the manufacturer and reported by TechPowerUp and Tom’s Hardware. Every game includes four save slots and a rewind function that rolls back up to 30 seconds of play.
Two bonus titles, Castle Crisis and Super Breakout, are unlocked by connecting an analog controller.
The cartridge slot is the headline feature for collectors, advertised as compatible with “most” cartridges made for Atari 400, 800, XL, and XE computers.
That word “most” is doing serious lifting here. No independent testing has mapped which cartridges fall outside that claim, and full compatibility details remain unconfirmed ahead of the April 2027 launch.
Price and the Competition Question
At $219.99, this is a premium ask, and the hardware has to justify every dollar.
Paying $220 for authenticity over convenience is the retro hardware version of choosing vinyl over streaming: the argument holds up if the execution is there, but it falls apart the moment the needle skips. The 800XL’s case for the price rests on whether the mechanical keyboard feels right, the cartridge slot works reliably across a broad slice of the library, and BASIC runs cleanly, as Thurrott notes in its coverage of the announcement.
Pre-orders require real trust. April 2027 is distant, and the feature set described by the manufacturer, while genuinely ambitious for a retro recreation, cannot be independently verified until units ship. If the hardware delivers, $219.99 is a reasonable ask for what is on paper the most fully featured Atari 8-bit recreation yet announced. If it doesn’t, your options remain open.
