This is a list of games for the Atari Video Computer System, a console renamed to the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocess ...

in November 1982. Sears licensed the console and many games from Atari, Inc., selling them under different names. A few cartridges were Sears exclusives. The list contains games, divided into three sections: #Games published by Atari and Sears #Games published by third parties # Hobbyist-developed games after the system was discontinued. The Atari VCS was first released in North America on September 11, 1977 with nine cartridges: '' Air-Sea Battle'', '' Basic Math'', '' Blackjack'', ''

Combat Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, o ...

'', '' Indy 500'', ''

Star Ship ''Star Ship'' is a first-person space combat simulator video game programmed by Bob Whitehead and published by Atari, Inc. for its Video Computer System (later known as the Atari 2600). The game was one of the nine launch titles offered when ...

'', '' Street Racer'', '' Surround'' and '' Video Olympics''. The final licensed Atari 2600 games released in North America were ''

Ikari Warriors ''Ikari Warriors'', known as in Japan, is a Vertically scrolling video game, vertically-scrolling, run-and-gun shooter arcade video game released by SNK in 1986. It was published in North America by Tradewest. The game was released at the time w ...

'', ''MotoRodeo'', ''Sentinel'', and '' Xenophobe'' in early 1991, and the final licensed games released in Europe were '' Klax'' and ''Acid Drop'' in 1990 and 1992 respectively.

Games published by Atari and Sears

All of the initial era of Atari 2600 games were developed and manufactured by Atari, Inc. These games were published by Atari, and many were also licensed to

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began ...

, which released these games under its Tele-Games brand, often with different titles. Sears's Tele-Games brand was unrelated to the company Telegames, which also produced cartridges for the Atari 2600 (mostly re-issues of M Network games.) Three games were also produced by Atari Inc. for Sears as exclusive releases under the Tele-Games brand: '' Steeplechase'', ''Stellar Track'', and '' Submarine Commander''.

Games published by third parties

As the Atari 2600 console grew in popularity, in 1980 other game developers, such as

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

and

Imagic Imagic ( ) was an American video game developer and publisher that created games initially for the Atari 2600. Founded in 1981 by corporate alumni of Atari, Inc. and Mattel, its best-selling titles were ''Atlantis'', '' Cosmic Ark'', and '' D ...

, entered the market and published more than 380 of their own cartridges for the Atari 2600. Many of the most popular Atari 2600 games, such as '' Pitfall!'' and '' Demon Attack'', are third-party games.

Homebrew games

The Atari 2600 has been a popular platform for

homebrew Homebrewing mainly refers to small-scale, non-commercial manufacture of a drink, typically beer. Homebrew or home brew may also refer to: Computing * Homebrew Computer Club * Homebrew (package manager), for macOS and Linux * Homebrew (video game ...

projects, with games publicly released. Unlike later systems, the Atari 2600 does not require a modchip to run cartridges. Many games are clones of existing games written as programming challenges, often borrowing the name of the original. In 2003,

selected several games for inclusion in the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

version of their '' Activision Anthology'', as indicated below.

Additional titles (publisher unknown)

Included with Atari Flashback 9 / Flashback 9 Gold

# Adventure II # Aquaventure # Asteroids Deluxe # Atari Climber # Burnin’ Rubber # Championship Soccer # Chase It! # Combat Two # Decathlon # Escape It! # Fun with Numbers # Miss It! # Realsports Basketball # Return to Haunted House # Saboteur # Save Mary # Shield Shifter # Space Raid # Strip Off # Tempest # Wizard # Yars’ Return

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

Atari 2600 Rarity Guide
* - Dozens of games freely playable from within the web browser. {{Video game lists by platform *