Asteroids: Recharged Arrives Next Month on All Platforms

Written by Brandon Hofer on November 23, 2021

News: A revival of one of the most influential games to ever be developed will arrive next month on consoles and PC.

Asteroids: Recharged, the modern co-op revival of the definitive arcade shooter from Atari, in collaboration with developers Adamvision Studios and SneakyBox Studios, will arrive on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and 4, Xbox Series X|S and One, Atari VCS, and PC for Steam and Epic Games Store on Tuesday, Dec. 14.

Originally released in 1979, Asteroids was one of the first pioneering arcade hits, using vector graphics, a tension-building minimalist soundtrack, and risk-reward gameplay as each asteroid splits up to create an unforgettable experience. Now Asteroids gets recharged with a fresh visual look, along with optimization for widescreen and high refresh rates.

Award-winning composer Megan McDuffee provides a soundtrack inspired by the original’s tense mood, but with a synthwave flavor. Also, players no longer have to wait for their friend’s life to end with two-player simultaneous play that works perfectly with Steam Remote Play and Share Play on PlayStation systems.

Pilot a spaceship in a segment of space fraught with both careening asteroids and enemy saucers bent on destruction. Maneuver through the debris and incoming hail of laser blasts, picking up a plethora of powerups, including the shot-deflecting Reflector, defensive Orbiting Bullets, devastating Mega Lasers, and Side Attack shots to cover the ship’s flanks. Get stuck in a jam, and hyperspace to a random spot on the level and pray it’s safe or it’s game over.

Compete for high scores in this pick-up-and-play experience, with the Recharged series’ trademark approach to reviving arcade thrill: only one life stands between high scores or game over. Test those rock-smashing and extraterrestrial-eliminating skills completing a variety of Challenges utilizing the game’s powerups and enemies in brand new ways.

“Asteroids helped revolutionize the arcade scene in the late ’70s with its incredible gameplay and novel concept,” said Wade Rosen, CEO, Atari. “With a new, sleek design, powerups, challenges, and leaderboard support, Asteroids: Recharged will be a great time for fans of the original and newer gamers looking for a modernized retro fix.”

Asteroids was the highest grossing arcade game of 1980, sold more than 3 million copies on the Atari 2600, was one of the first games to feature a high score leaderboard with initials, and influenced developers in the years and decades that followed.

Asteroids: Recharged will be available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam and Epic Games Store for Windows PC, and the Atari VCS for $9.99 on Dec. 14. The Atari VCS versions each feature exclusive content and are optimized to work with the new Atari Wireless Classic Joystick.

Asteroids: Recharged supports English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and simplified and traditional Chinese language text.

Will you be picking up Asteroids: Recharged? Let us know in the comment section below.