Double bumper news from Commodore this week, which has announced not just a special Cyberpunk 2077 edition Commodore 64 Ultimate, but the revived company’s first foray into game publishing.
One of the first games I got, back in the early-to-mid 1980s, was Depthcharge, a game that (possibly?) was bundled with my Commodore 64. So to learn that Commodore is re-entering the software publishing market — with a title as big as Alien Breed — is pretty heartwarming. Unfortunately, there is no word on a physical release at this time, but I wouldn’t rule it out, given the franchise.
Let’s take a look at both announcements.
Commodore has partnered with CD PROJEKT RED to produce the first themed Commodore 64 Ultimate variant. It boasts a smoked grey translucent case with graffiti tags and a turquise glow, in keeping with the Cyberpunk 2077 theme. It also ships with an exclusive, non-interactive in-universe demo by Polish C64 demo group Arise, with a LukHash chiptune soundtrack.
In addition, the FPGA-based computer sports a Cyberpunk-themed BASIC 2.0 boot screen. The Commodore 77 is 99.9% compatible with existing C64 games and peripherals.
You should check out the video above, which illustrates the main differences between the Commodore 77 and the Commodore 64.
Christian “Perifractic” Simpson says: “In a world dominated by corporate surveillance, algorithmic feeds, and private security, the safest tech is sometimes the oldest... We’re deeply honored that CD PROJEKT RED felt the same, and gave us the chance to play in their world.”
I don’t know about you, but having missed out on getting the Commodore 64 Ultimate early, a new special edition is particularly enticing. You can preorder the Commodore 77 from Commodore now for the excellent price of $377, planned for shipping in early 2027.
Also announced at Gamescom is the Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection, a collaoration with Team17 that re-releases all six Alien Breed titles (released between 1991 and 1996), with some useful modern additions. These include dual-stick controls, instant save states, retro filters, rumble, and peer-to-peer online co-op
In addition, the collection features a brand-new in-universe digital archive that adds developer interviews, early design docs, and unreleased material to te gaming experience.
The CEO of Commodore, Christian Simpson, says: “Team17 built something that still holds up without any nostalgia required, and bringing all six games together in one place, running the way they were meant to run, felt like exactly the right project to launch Commodore back into publishing.”
Built in partnership with fellow preservationists Antstream Arcade, the Alien Breen 35th Anniversary Collection is available to pre-order on Steam now, and will also be released on GOG, Xbox, PlayStation, and Epic Games Store!
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