Following a decade long saga of delays, name changes, and Atari having to assure backers of a crowdfunding campaign that its retro console wasn't doomed, the Atari VCS platform is being retired early next year. On February 1st, 2027, the Atari VCS software store is shutting down, according to an announcement posted to the Atari Club Discord and shared by Tom's Hardware.
With a design loosely inspired by the original Atari 2600 - minus a cartridge slot - the VCS was a Linux-based, AMD-powered mini PC that could emulate a large collection of pre-loaded classic Atari games, but its functionality could be expanded through an online software sto …