Fish, a New Unreleased Atari 2600 Prototype, Has Been Discovered

A previously unreleased Atari 2600 prototype has been discovered on a VAX/VMS backup tape from Atari's Coin-Op Division and is now available to play.

The news was shared on the Atari forum Atari Age by the user Dutchman2000, who discovered the game.

"Little is known as to who programmed it or how it ended up on a VAX," they wrote, adding that the only available information is the filename "Fish" and a potential build date of 22nd December 1983.

However, as some have noted, this date could just as easily be when the game was copied over to the backup system.

The game sees players take control of a small fish, with the goal being to eat various creatures and objects onscreen to move on to the next wave and try to rack up the highest score possible. As you attempt to do this, though, you will often find yourself having to dodge bigger fish, who will frequently appear onscreen to try to swallow you instead.

Obviously, by today's standards, Fish is remarkably simple in both its design and execution, but it's remarkable to see old games like this get discovered decades later, especially considering this one seems to have come completely out of nowhere.

You can download the game now from the Atari Age forums, or watch some footage of it above from the Retro YouTuber Into the Vertical Blank.