Over the last few years, Atari has made a concerted effort to revive some of its classic brands. While many of the games owned by the company don’t have the same name recognition they once did, an effort is being made to reintroduce these properties to new audiences. Last year saw the release of Lunar Lander: Beyond, and Atari has now revealed a similar reinvention. Missile Command Delta will take the core concept of the arcade original, but will radically change the gameplay. Instead of a shoot ’em up, Missile Command Delta will be a turn-based tactical game. In a press release, Atari vice president of games Ethan Stearns talked about the genre change.
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“While Missile Command Delta approaches gameplay in a completely new way, it retains all the tension and suspense of the arcade original. You have to think strategically about every move you make because even one poor choice can have grave consequences,” said Stearns. “Missile Command Delta has a little something for every kind of player – whether you love strategy tactics games, are a mystery fan, a secret hunting completionist, or you just love to explore and solve puzzles. We can’t wait for players to get their hands on the game later this year.”
While Missile Command Delta is being published by Atari, development duties are being handled by a pair of indie studios. Mighty Yell is best known for its work on The Big Con and Knight in the Attic, while 13AM Games has previously released Runbow and Dawn of the Monsters. The game will be released on Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC via Steam. The first trailer for Missile Command Delta can be found below.
It will be interesting to see how audiences feel about Missile Command Delta. On one hand, the name doesn’t have as much draw as it did four decades ago, but those passionate about the original arcade game probably won’t be as excited to play something that seems so different from the original. Still, it’s nice to see Atari looking at new ways to reinvigorate these brands, and if the final result can at least maintain the feel of the original, it could be a nice way to reinvigorate the concept for new audiences. For those that would prefer to stick to the original game, it can be found in Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, alongside Missile Command 3D.
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As of this writing, Missile Command Delta does not have a set release date, but the game will arrive sometime in 2025. Hopefully we’ll get some more information on the game over the coming months. A Steam page is now live, and it can be added to the user’s wishlist. Hopefully that means a full release date isn’t too far away!
How do you feel about these changes to the classic Missile Command formula? Are you a fan of the original game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
