Commodore 64 8-Bit PC Revives After 30 Years
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- The revival of the legendary 8-bit PC Commodore 64 was announced on July 12, 2025.
- The first of the revived PCs are set to be shipped in October or November of 2025.
- The renewed C64 Ultimate comes in three editions: Basic, Founders, and Starlight, with the latter two equipped with branded backlighting.
The revival of the legendary 8-bit PC Commodore 64 was announced on July 12, 2025. The new device is titled Commodore 64 Ultimate.
The team behind the rebirth, which includes original Commodore engineers and management, sets the PCs to be shipped in October or November of 2025.
The original 8-bit home computer, Commodore 64, also known as the C64, was introduced in January 1982. Since then, the device has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12 million and 17 million units.
Although many early C64 games were inferior Atari 8-bit ports, by late 1983, the growing user base caused developers to create new installments with better graphics and sound. According to the list of Commodore 64 games on Wikipedia, over 2,700 titles were supported by the C64 back in the day.
As the C64 was becoming popular among gamers, the company even launched the cartridge-based home video game console version of it, titled Commodore 64 Games System (C64GS).
Talking about the renewed Commodore 64 Ultimate, according to the official website, the device utilizes an FPGA board with an AMD Artix 7 chip and is compatible with all games and cartridges created for the original Commodore. Games for the Ultimate can be downloaded to the computer via Wi-Fi or using original cartridges. Besides that, the revived PC features 128 MB of RAM, multiple ports including Ethernet, three USB-A 2.0, one USB-C, an internal slot for MicroSD, HDMI display output, 8-pin DIN (CVBS, S-Video, or RGB via optional cable), 3.5 mm headphone jack, Optical S/PDIF, 2 × DB-9 joystick/paddle ports, cartridge port, User port (26-pin internal), disk drive port, and datasette port (6-pin edge connector), as well as 12V DC power output.
As of the time of writing, there are three available models of renewed C64: the Commodore 64 Ultimate in Basic Beige color, as well as the yellowish/transparent Founders Edition with branded backlighting and golden keyboard keys, and the transparent Starlight Edition, also with branded backlighting.
This marks the second attempt to revive Commodores after the first one failed in the period 2010–2013 for multiple reasons.
