Atari VCS: preparation for commercial launch and compatibility with the Unity game engine

• Final development and production test phases underway for its commercial launch in the
US in March 2020
• Compatibility with the Unity game engine, which is used in nearly 50% of all games
worldwide
• The Atari VCS makes it easy to access and stream games

Atari®, one of the world's most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers, announces today that the final development and production test phases are underway for the launch of the Atari VCS planned for March 2020 in the United States. The units preordered through the Indiegogo campaign will still benefit from a priority delivery. Furthermore, Atari is announcing the compatibility of the Atari VCS with the Unity game engine, offering a better user experience and access to a large variety of games.

The Atari VCS aims to transform the TV-centric home entertainment experience. Users will enter an everexpanding Atari world of all-new games, classic and remastered favorites, streaming media and personal apps. The Atari VCS is also a personal computer; thanks to its Atari Sandbox mode, users can download the operating system of their choice and adapt the Atari VCS’ memory.

Atari is also announcing that the Atari VCS will be compatible with the Unity game engine, the development platform used in nearly half of all games worldwide. This will enable Unity’s community of developers to offer their content on the VCS and benefit from proactive support from Unity. The Atari VCS user interface and the Atari VCS Store will also be developed using Unity.

With Unity compatibility and its exclusive partnership with the Antstream Arcade retro game streaming
service, already announced at the end of September, the Atari VCS clearly stands out as a modern
entertainment hub at the heart of people’s living rooms. The full benefits of these technological and strategic choices can be seen in light of the recent announcements for new cloud gaming and streaming services: Google® has just launched its cloud gaming service Stadia® and Microsoft® has confirmed that it will be launching its xCloud® service in 2020.

“The Atari VCS’ open architecture makes it an ideal tool for accessing the market’s growing selection of entertainment offers”, confirms Frédéric Chesnais, Atari’s CEO. “The compatibility with Unity, the game engine used by the majority of developers, reflects this open philosophy, providing developers with all the tools needed to be present on our platform. The gaming industry is evolving with new business models made possible by major technological advances and we have designed the Atari VCS to maximize the choices and possibilities available to users for these new entertainment formats”.

Prices range from $249.99 for the Atari VCS 400 Onyx base model (4Gb memory) to $389.99 for one of the three Atari VCS 800 (8Gb memory) system bundles that include an Atari VCS Classic Joystick and Atari VCS Modern Controller. US customers can preorder the Atari VCS on GameStop.com, Walmart.com and AtariVCS.com.

A full interview with Michael Arzt, COO of Atari VCS, answering frequently asked questions about the Atari VCS was recently conducted. Read about the Q&A HERE.....