Atari World Championships announced: Atari teams with Twin Galaxies to bring back arcade competition
Atari and Twin Galaxies have announced the Atari World Championships, a multi-stage competitive tournament built around five of Atari’s classic arcade titles.
The announcement outlines an open online phase followed by an in-person Grand Finals, with the organizers positioning the event as a revival of arcade-style score competition for a modern audience.
The tournament will begin with an open online qualifier.
Atari’s statement says the online stage will leverage Twin Galaxies’ decades of experience in score verification to ensure top competitors advance to the final event.
That online-to-live format is intended to filter entrants through authenticated leaderboards before a winner is decided at a live Grand Finals event.
Twin Galaxies has a long history in competitive gaming dating back to 1981, when founder Walter Day began cataloguing arcade high scores.
The organisation built a reputation as a central record keeper for arcade performance over the following decades.
In recent years Twin Galaxies underwent a change in ownership and management that includes industry figures such as Jace Hall and former professional basketball player and esports franchise owner Rick Fox.
The company’s legacy has included both prominence and controversy.
Record disputes and public challenges in the 2010s led to high-profile cases in which some historic records were re-examined and, in some instances, invalidated.
Twin Galaxies’ current management has framed the new championship as a way to restore trust and structure around classic arcade competition.
Atari did not list the full five-game roster in its initial release; the announcement mentioned Pong, Asteroids, Centipede and Missile Command among titles discussed but did not confirm a complete lineup.
The company also gave only a broad timeframe for the event, indicating a 2026 window without specific dates.
Twin Galaxies senior executive Zachary Rozga described the initiative as an effort to revive nostalgic arcade competition while providing modern recognition systems for players.
Atari chairman and CEO Wade Rosen said the partnership aims to celebrate competition with existing fans and introduce new audiences to Atari’s community.
The announcement follows other recent Atari moves to expand its classic IP, including a reported multimedia deal to adapt several legacy games.
For fans of retro gaming, many Atari classics have previously been reissued on modern platforms, including releases on the Nintendo Switch eShop, making these titles accessible to contemporary players.
Atari and Twin Galaxies said more details on participating titles, registration, and event partners will be shared in future updates.
For now, the Atari World Championships signals a renewed push to position Atari’s arcade catalog at the center of competitive, score-based events.
Atari and Twin Galaxies have announced the Atari World Championships, a multi-stage competitive tournament built around five of Atari’s classic arcade titles.
The announcement outlines an open online phase followed by an in-person Grand Finals, with the organizers positioning the event as a revival of arcade-style score competition for a modern audience.
The tournament will begin with an open online qualifier.
Atari’s statement says the online stage will leverage Twin Galaxies’ decades of experience in score verification to ensure top competitors advance to the final event.
That online-to-live format is intended to filter entrants through authenticated leaderboards before a winner is decided at a live Grand Finals event.
Twin Galaxies has a long history in competitive gaming dating back to 1981, when founder Walter Day began cataloguing arcade high scores.
The organisation built a reputation as a central record keeper for arcade performance over the following decades.
In recent years Twin Galaxies underwent a change in ownership and management that includes industry figures such as Jace Hall and former professional basketball player and esports franchise owner Rick Fox.
The company’s legacy has included both prominence and controversy.
Record disputes and public challenges in the 2010s led to high-profile cases in which some historic records were re-examined and, in some instances, invalidated.
Twin Galaxies’ current management has framed the new championship as a way to restore trust and structure around classic arcade competition.
Atari did not list the full five-game roster in its initial release; the announcement mentioned Pong, Asteroids, Centipede and Missile Command among titles discussed but did not confirm a complete lineup.
The company also gave only a broad timeframe for the event, indicating a 2026 window without specific dates.
Twin Galaxies senior executive Zachary Rozga described the initiative as an effort to revive nostalgic arcade competition while providing modern recognition systems for players.
Atari chairman and CEO Wade Rosen said the partnership aims to celebrate competition with existing fans and introduce new audiences to Atari’s community.
The announcement follows other recent Atari moves to expand its classic IP, including a reported multimedia deal to adapt several legacy games.
For fans of retro gaming, many Atari classics have previously been reissued on modern platforms, including releases on the Nintendo Switch eShop, making these titles accessible to contemporary players.
Atari and Twin Galaxies said more details on participating titles, registration, and event partners will be shared in future updates.
For now, the Atari World Championships signals a renewed push to position Atari’s arcade catalog at the center of competitive, score-based events.
