Atari is releasing three lost retro games as cartridges

Atari is bringing a trio of super-rare retro games out in physical form. Aquaventure, Saboteur and Yars' Return will be available on Atari 2600 cartridges and come in beautiful '80s-style packaging. 

You'll be able to choose between $50 standard editions, which only include the cartridge, or super-fancy $150 limited editions. The latter contains the cartridge, a premium poster, a printed instructional manual with bonus material, a collectible pin and badge, a certificate of authenticity, and a digital copy of the game playable on the Atari VCS.

Only 1,983 copies of each limited-edition cartridge will be made, honoring the year in which these games would have been released if the video game crash hadn't wiped out the market. 

Preorders open on Tuesday. Orders for standard editions made before Dec. 10 should be delivered by Christmas, while limited editions are expected to ship in the first quarter of 2022.

The releases mark the launch of Atari XP, an initiative to bring rare and never-released Atari games to market. The cartridges are made from all new parts and materials, with beveled edges to prevent pin damage, gold-plated connectors and identical power draw to the originals, the company noted in a release.

Future Atari XP drops will include previously unreleased games, rare Atari  physical media and improved versions of classic games with refined mechanics and graphics.

"With our large catalog of classic games, we saw an opportunity to bring high-value, nostalgic, content to the very active community of hardcore Atari fans, collectors, and video game enthusiasts," Atari CEO Wade Rosen said in a release. "We are confident that fans and collectors alike will be thoroughly impressed with Atari's reemergence into cartridge production."