Blaze Entertainment and HyperMegaTech! have delayed THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld by six months. Both devices were due on 15 October 2026 — they now launch 22 April 2027.

What’s changed

Both handhelds — and both the Standard and Collector’s Editions of each — move from 15 October 2026 to 22 April 2027. Retailers, including Funstock, have started emailing existing pre-order customers to confirm the new date. No pricing changes have been announced alongside the delay.

Why the delay?

Blaze cited production quality as the reason: areas of the build weren’t meeting their standards, and they’ve opted to take the extra time rather than ship a compromised product. It’s a six-month slip rather than a cancellation — the hardware itself, specs, and included game libraries (25 built-in titles on each device) aren’t affected.

What it means for existing pre-orders

If you’ve already pre-ordered either handheld, your order updates automatically to the new release date — no action needed. If your order includes other items alongside a handheld, expect the full order to ship together on the new date rather than being split. Contact your retailer’s support team directly if you want to amend or cancel. For international retailers and other stockists, see our Where to Buy page.

PRE-ORDER

THEC64 Handheld

The Spectrum Handheld

The rest of the Evercade lineup isn’t affected

This delay is specific to the two clamshell handhelds built by HyperMegaTech! — it’s separate from the core Evercade cartridge-based hardware. Blaze explicitly confirmed the Evercade Nexus is unaffected and remains on track for its 30 October 2026 release. It also lands just a day after two other launches went ahead on schedule: the Evercade Wireless Controller and the Super Pocket Activision Edition both released as planned on 28 September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld release now?

22 April 2027 — both devices, both Standard and Collector’s Editions. They were originally due 15 October 2026.

Has the price changed?

No price changes have been announced. See the THEC64 Handheld and Spectrum Handheld pages for current pricing.

Do I need to do anything with my existing pre-order?

No — orders are automatically updated to the new release date. Contact your retailer if you want to change or cancel.

Is this a cancellation?

No. Blaze and HyperMegaTech! have confirmed both handhelds are still coming — just six months later than planned, to address production quality issues.

Is the Evercade Nexus affected by this delay?

No — Blaze has explicitly confirmed the Evercade Nexus is unaffected and remains on track for its 30 October 2026 release.

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For full specs and pricing, see our THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld pages, or our head-to-head comparison if you’re deciding between the two. See the full range on our hardware comparison guide.

Blaze has now confirmed dates for the next wave of Evercade cartridges. The DOOM Collection and the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack arrive on 30 October 2026, in the same month as the Evercade Nexus, and The Last Ninja and IK Collection and the James Pond Collection follow on 4 December 2026. Here’s what’s coming, plus the cartridges that have already come out this year.

Coming on 30 October 2026

The DOOM Collection is cartridge 11 in the Evercade Home Computer Collection. It has nine officially licensed native ports: DOOM, DOOM II, six official mission packs and a set of Deathmatch levels, with up to four players. It costs £24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99, and the cartridge has a red shell rather than the usual blue. The game list and the original manuals are on the DOOM Collection page, and there is also a limited Evercade Nexus DOOM Edition.

  

The Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack is cartridge 53 in the Evercade Home Console Collection. Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie come as brand-new enhanced Evercade ports rather than N64 emulation. It is the launch cartridge bundled with the Nexus, and it is also sold separately, with the same 30 October release. See the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack page for details.

  

Coming on 4 December 2026

The Last Ninja and IK Collection is cartridge 12 in the Evercade Home Computer Collection. It has 14 game versions across the Commodore 64, Atari ST and ZX Spectrum, covering The Last Ninja, Last Ninja 2 and 3, Ninja Remix, International Karate and IK+. It costs £24.99 / €29.99 / $29.99, and pre-orders opened on 24 September. The Last Ninja and IK Collection page has the full list and the original manuals.

  

The James Pond Collection is cartridge 54 in the Evercade Home Console Collection, with four Mega Drive / Genesis games: James Pond: Underwater Agent, James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod, James Pond 3: Operation StarFI5H and The Aquatic Games. It has the same price and pre-order date. See the James Pond Collection page for the list and the manuals we’ve found so far.

  

Blaze says both December cartridges work across the Evercade ecosystem, including the Nexus, home consoles, handhelds, the Evercade Alpha and HyperMegaTech! Super Pocket devices.

Already released in 2026

If you missed them, these cartridges have already come out this year:

• NEOGEO Arcade 4 (cartridge 22 in the Evercade Arcade Collection) – released 26 June 2026 at £19.99 / €24.99 / $29.99
• Activision Collection 3 (cartridge 52 in the Evercade Home Console Collection) – 13 Atari 2600 games, released 26 June 2026
• Visco Arcade 1 and Visco Arcade 2 (cartridges 23 and 24 in the Evercade Arcade Collection) – eight games each, released 28 August 2026

Which hardware will play them?

Check each cartridge’s page for compatibility. The devices to look at are the compact Super Pocket, the EXP-R handheld, the TV-connected VS-R, the Alpha bartop arcade machine and the new Nexus handheld. Not sure which is right for you? The hardware comparison page breaks it all down.

Don’t forget the original manuals

One of the things I enjoy most about this site is the collection of original game manual scans. The DOOM Collection page hosts the original manuals for DOOM, DOOM II and Final DOOM, and the Last Ninja and James Pond pages link the original manuals I’ve been able to find.

Popular ones include the Tomb Raider Manual, the Duke Nukem 3D Manual and the Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain Manual. There are also scans for Worms Armageddon, Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, Another World and more. Browse them all on the Evercade Manual Scans page, and if you have a manual that’s missing, please let me know.

Keep track of the whole library

The Carts & Manuals page lists every cartridge in collection order, the A-Z of Evercade Games lets you look a game up by name, and Find Your Cart lets you browse by genre, era and system. Looking for somewhere to start? See our picks for the best Evercade cartridges. Some older cartridges are no longer in production, and the Legacy Cartridges page shows what’s discontinued and where to find it second-hand.

Got a game name in your head but no idea which cartridge it’s on? The new A-Z of Evercade Games solves that instantly — every officially licensed Evercade game, alphabetised and cross-referenced to the cartridge it ships on.

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What is the A-Z of Evercade Games?

It’s a single-page alphabetical index of all 767 games across 91 cartridges. Every entry tells you the game name and the exact cartridge it appears on — so you can jump straight to the cartridge page for box art, full game listings, and more.

The index is colour-coded by cartridge type: Console, Arcade, Home Computer, and Built-In. There’s also a quick-jump bar so you can skip straight to any letter — no endless scrolling required.

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Why is it useful?

The Evercade Games Database is brilliant when you want to filter by genre, number of players, release date, or era. But sometimes you just want a quick answer: which cart is Battletoads on? The A-Z gets you there in seconds.

Think of the two pages as complementary tools. Use the A-Z when you already know the game name. Use the Games Database when you’re browsing or comparing. Together they cover every way you’d want to dig into the Evercade library.

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Who is it for?

Pretty much everyone — but it’s especially handy for:

• New Evercade owners who have a wishlist of specific games and want to know which carts to buy first.
• Collectors tracking down titles they’re missing.
• Retro gamers who remember a game from childhood and want to know if Evercade has it.
• Gift buyers trying to figure out which cartridge to pick up for someone.

If you’re completely new to the platform, the Introduction to Evercade is a great place to start before diving into the library.

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Original game manuals — a hidden gem

One of the standout features tucked into the A-Z is the growing collection of original game manual scans. Where a manual is available, it’s flagged right alongside the game entry.

These aren’t just reference PDFs — they’re a genuine nostalgia hit. Titles with scanned manuals include classics like Battletoads, Tomb Raider, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Another World, Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror, Cannon Fodder, Duke Nukem 3D, Worms Armageddon, Sensible Soccer: International Edition, and many more.

There are also some real deep-cut treats in there — original manuals for Bee 52, Big Nose Freaks Out, Bases Loaded, Brawl Brothers, California Games, Impossible Mission, Mega Lo Mania, R.C. Pro-Am, Cobra Triangle, Conker’s Pocket Tales, Earthworm Jim 2, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Aero the Acro-Bat, Astyanax, Gateway to Apshai, MiG-29 Soviet Fighter, Side Pocket, Quattro Adventure, Super Skidmarks, Utopia: The Creation of a Nation, Winter Games, Xump: Final Run, Z, The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy, and Dizzy the Adventurer.

The full list of cartridges with manual scans keeps growing — browse the complete Carts & Manuals library to see everything available.

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How to use the A-Z alongside the Games Database

Here’s the quickest workflow:

1. Know a game name? Go straight to the A-Z of Evercade Games, hit the letter jump link, find your game, and click through to the cartridge.
2. Browsing for something new? Head to the Evercade Games Database and filter by genre, era, or player count.
3. Want to pick a whole cartridge? The Carts & Manuals page gives you the full picture — game lists, box art, and manuals all in one place.

Not sure which Evercade hardware to play all these games on? Our hardware comparison page breaks down every option — from the pocket-sized Super Pocket to the TV-connected VS-R.

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Ready to find your next favourite? Browse the full A-Z of Evercade Games — and if a cartridge catches your eye, check out our picks for the best Evercade cartridges to help narrow things down.

Evercade’s library is much darker than its friendly, colourful image suggests. Between the DOOM Collection, gothic vampire epics, alien-blasting shooters and a lot of retro monster mayhem, there’s plenty here for anyone who likes their gaming on the creepy or cosmic side. We went through the cartridge library game by game to pull out the picks below, grouped by flavour. Short on time? Start with the DOOM Collection, Team17 Collection 1 (Alien Breed) and the Legacy of Kain Collection.

A note on cartridge status: anything marked legacy is out of print and only available second-hand — those entries have an eBay link. Carts without that tag aren’t on our legacy list.

The big one: the DOOM Collection

The DOOM Collection (Home Computer Cartridge 11) arrives on 30 October 2026 — the day before Halloween — for £24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99. It packs nine pieces of officially licensed content into a single cartridge with a distinctive red shell, and they’re new native ports built for Evercade hardware rather than emulated console releases.

  

You get DOOM, DOOM II, Master Levels for DOOM II, TNT: Evilution, The Plutonia Experiment, No Rest for the Living, SIGIL, SIGIL II and a Deathmatch level set, plus gameplay modifiers (Turbo Monsters, Vampire Mode and more), adjustable violence settings and multiplayer modes including Chaosmatch, Instagib and Tag. It works on all current Evercade hardware. The original manuals for DOOM, DOOM II and Final DOOM (which covers TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment) are linked from the DOOM Collection page, along with the full game list.

The limited-edition Nexus DOOM Edition bundle has already sold out — all 3,000 units went shortly after pre-orders opened. Our Nexus DOOM Edition sold-out post explains what that means; the standard DOOM Collection cartridge is not limited.

Gothic horror, ghosts and monsters

Legacy of Kain Collection (Cartridge 41) is the essential gothic pick: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, two PlayStation-era vampire epics with dark fantasy, time travel and plenty of atmosphere. Both have original manuals linked from their pages.

Namco Museum Collection 2 (Cartridge 6, legacy cartridge, out of print — see our Legacy Cartridges page) is the one for gore fans: it includes Splatterhouse 2 and Splatterhouse 3, the Mega Drive horror beat-’em-ups.

Find it on eBay →

Atari Collection 2 (Cartridge 5, legacy cartridge, out of print — see our Legacy Cartridges page) has an early taste of survival horror in Haunted House: creep around a dark mansion with only a match for light, dodging ghosts and bats.

Find it on eBay →

Atari Lynx Collection 1 (Cartridge 13, legacy cartridge, out of print — see our Legacy Cartridges page) adds Dracula the Undead, a Dracula-themed adventure on Atari’s handheld.

Find it on eBay →

Indie Heroes Collection 1 (Cartridge 17, legacy cartridge, out of print — see our Legacy Cartridges page) has Deadeus, a Game Boy horror game.

Find it on eBay →

The Bitmap Brothers Collection 2 (Home Computer Cartridge 8) includes Cadaver and Cadaver: The Payoff, grim isometric dungeon crawls.

Thalamus Collection 1 (Home Computer Cartridge 7) has Creatures II: Torture Trouble, which sends you into a demon-run torture chamber.

Jaleco Arcade Collection 1 (Arcade Cartridge 5) has Avenging Spirit, where you play a ghost who possesses your enemies.

Data East Arcade 1 (Arcade Cartridge 2) has the dark-fantasy action RPG Dark Seal.

Demons of Asteborg/Astebros (Cartridge 36) is a 16-bit platformer with a demon-hunting, dark fantasy theme.

Indie Heroes Collection 4 (Cartridge 43) has Nyghtmare: The Ninth King, a dark-fantasy action platformer in the Castlevania mould, and Curse of Illmoore Bay, a Halloween-themed Mega Drive platformer that is more Saturday-morning cartoon than scary.

One more, and it isn’t a cartridge: the Evercade EXP-R has 16 Capcom games built in, including Ghouls ’n Ghosts. See our Built-In Games page for the full list.

Alien invasions and sci-fi shooters

Team17 Collection 1 (Home Computer Cartridge 3) is the top sci-fi pick after DOOM: Alien Breed, Alien Breed 2 and Alien Breed: Tower Assault, the Aliens-inspired top-down shooters, plus Project X.

Duke Nukem Collection 1 (Cartridge 33) has Duke Nukem 3D: Total Meltdown — the alien-invasion FPS to play alongside DOOM — and Duke Nukem II: Remastered.

Duke Nukem Collection 2 (Cartridge 34) has the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance spin-offs.

Xeno Crisis & Tanglewood (Cartridge 11) brings Xeno Crisis, a modern Mega Drive-style arena shooter with a strong Aliens flavour.

Piko Interactive Collection 3 (Cartridge 29) has Zero Tolerance, a first-person shooter on the Mega Drive.

Piko Interactive Collection 4 (Cartridge 39) adds Zero Tolerance Underground.

The Turrican Collection (Cartridge 49) collects ten sci-fi run-and-gun games from the series, including Turrican, Turrican II and Mega Turrican.

Metal Dragon / Life on Mars (Cartridge 42) has two 16-bit titles; in Life on Mars you investigate a seemingly abandoned space colony.

Indie Heroes Collection 2 (Cartridge 28) has Nix: The Paradox Relic, a sci-fi action-adventure in which a bounty hunter infiltrates an abandoned research facility on an asteroid.

Indie Heroes Collection 4 (Cartridge 43) also has Starseed, a Game Boy Color shooter against alien waves and space dreadnoughts.

Bitmap Brothers Collection 1 (Cartridge 22) has Xenon 2: Megablast and The Chaos Engine.

Bitmap Brothers Collection 2 (Home Computer Cartridge 8) also has Z, the robot-war strategy game.

Delphine Software Collection 1 (Home Computer Cartridge 4) has Another World and Flashback, two cinematic sci-fi classics.

Retro computer sci-fi

The Home Computer carts are full of space shooters.

The Llamasoft Collection (Home Computer Cartridge 10) has Jeff Minter’s surreal blasters, including Attack of the Mutant Camels and Metagalactic Llamas.

Thalamus Collection 1 (Home Computer Cartridge 7) also has Armalyte.

The C64 Collection 2 (Home Computer Cartridge 2) has Cybernoid and Uridium.

The C64 Collection 3 (Home Computer Cartridge 6) has Cybernoid II and Exolon.

Home Computer Heroes Collection 1 (Home Computer Cartridge 5) has Attack of the PETSCII Robots.

Arcade sci-fi and monsters

NEOGEO Arcade 4 (Arcade Cartridge 22) is the best of the NEOGEO carts for this list: Blazing Star is a sci-fi shooter, Robo Army is a cyborg beat-’em-up and King of the Monsters is giant-monster wrestling. Our NEOGEO Arcade 4 post has more.

NEOGEO Arcade 1 (Arcade Cartridge 16) has the dark-fantasy platformer Magician Lord.

NEOGEO Arcade 2 (Arcade Cartridge 19) has Metal Slug 2, which brings in alien invaders.

NEOGEO Arcade 3 (Arcade Cartridge 20) has Metal Slug 3, with more alien invaders.

Irem Arcade 1 (Arcade Cartridge 7, legacy cartridge, out of print — see our Legacy Cartridges page) is home to R-Type, the shooter with the biomechanical Bydo enemies.

Find it on eBay →

For more scrolling shooters, our shoot-em-up guide goes deeper. The sci-fi picks from those carts:

Toaplan Arcade 1 (Arcade Cartridge 8) has Zero Wing and Truxton.

Toaplan Arcade 2 (Arcade Cartridge 9) has Hellfire.

Toaplan Arcade 3 (Arcade Cartridge 11) has Batsugun.

Toaplan Arcade 4 (Arcade Cartridge 13) has Dogyuun and Grind Stormer.

Data East Arcade 1 (Arcade Cartridge 2) also has Darwin 4078.

Visco Arcade 1 (Arcade Cartridge 23) has Andro Dunos and Earth Joker.

Windjammers, Karnov & Friends (Arcade Cartridge 15) has Atomic Runner Chelnov and Rohga: Armor Force.

TAITO Arcade 1 (Arcade Cartridge 17) has Space Invaders and Colony 7.

Atari Arcade 2 (Arcade Cartridge 14) has Berzerk’s robot mazes.

Classic space arcade (legacy carts)

Atari Collection 1 (Cartridge 1, legacy cartridge, out of print — see our Legacy Cartridges page) has Asteroids, Tempest and Gravitar.

Find it on eBay →

Namco Museum Collection 1 (Cartridge 2, legacy cartridge, out of print — see our Legacy Cartridges page) has Galaxian and Xevious.

Find it on eBay →

Which Evercade for the atmosphere?

The VS-R plays on your TV and supports up to four players, which suits the DOOM multiplayer modes. The Alpha is a bartop arcade machine, a natural home for the arcade carts above. Still deciding? Our hardware comparison breaks it down.

Browse everything in the Games Database or the A–Z of Evercade Games, or see what the community recommends in Best Evercade Cartridges.

Two very different Evercade devices. One question: which one is right for you — or do you actually need both? The Evercade Nexus is a full-sized handheld built for 32 and 64-bit retro gaming on the go. The Evercade VS-R is a home console that plugs into your TV and supports up to four players. They’re not really competing — they’re solving different problems. But if you’re trying to decide where to spend your money, this guide will help.

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THE CORE DIFFERENCE

This isn’t a spec shootout. The Nexus and VS-R exist in fundamentally different spaces. The Nexus is a handheld — you pick it up, take it wherever, and play. The VS-R is a home console — it lives next to your TV and is built around the living room experience.

Both play the full Evercade cartridge library. Both are part of the same ecosystem. But how and where you play looks completely different depending on which one you own.

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CHOOSE THE NEXUS IF…

  

You want portable retro gaming without compromise. The Nexus has a 5.89-inch IPS screen, dual analogue sticks, rear bumpers and triggers, WiFi 6, and a 5,000mAh battery rated for 5+ hours of play. It’s the most capable handheld Evercade has ever made.

Those dual analogue sticks matter more than they might sound. The Nexus is designed around 32 and 64-bit titles — games that simply couldn’t be played properly on earlier Evercade handhelds. If you want to get the most out of that era of gaming, the control layout is essential.

The Nexus also includes EverSync — an exclusive local wireless multiplayer feature that lets two Nexus units play together without a router or internet connection. Crucially, only one player needs to own the cartridge. That’s a genuinely exciting feature for co-op and versus play on the go.

TATE mode returns too, rotating the screen to vertical for arcade games originally designed for portrait cabinets. Button mapping rotates with it, so vertical shooters play exactly as intended.

It launches in October 2026 at £169.99 / $199.99 / €199.99, and it comes bundled with the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack — two classic 64-bit Rare titles on a single cartridge.

The Nexus is the one to get if: you commute, travel, play in bed, or simply prefer handheld gaming. It’s also the right call if 32 and 64-bit games are your priority.

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CHOOSE THE VS-R IF…

  

You want Evercade on the big screen, with friends and family around you. The VS-R plugs into your TV and supports up to four players — that’s the experience it’s built for.

If your retro gaming is a social activity — couch co-op, competitive head-to-head, or introducing younger family members to classic games — the VS-R is the obvious answer. A handheld, however capable, just can’t replicate that shared-screen living room atmosphere.

It’s also worth noting that the Nexus has no HDMI output or TV streaming capability. If you want Evercade on your television, the VS-R is the device for that job. Full stop.

The VS-R is the one to get if: your gaming happens in the living room, you play with others regularly, or you simply prefer a traditional home console setup.

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WHY BOTH MAKES SENSE

Here’s the thing — these two devices complement each other really naturally. The VS-R handles your TV-based sessions and multiplayer evenings. The Nexus covers everything else: the commute, the holiday, the late-night gaming in bed when you don’t want to disturb anyone.

And because both play the same cartridge library, you’re not splitting your collection. Buy a cartridge once, and it works in both devices. That’s one of the smartest things about the Evercade ecosystem — your physical library travels between devices without any friction.

A household with both a Nexus and a VS-R has genuinely full coverage: portable solo play, big-screen multiplayer, and a single shared cartridge collection tying it all together.

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QUICK DECISION GUIDE

Pick the Nexus if: you want portable play, you love 32/64-bit games, dual analogue sticks matter to you, or you want EverSync wireless multiplayer between two handhelds.

Pick the VS-R if: you want Evercade on your TV, you play with multiple people regularly, or the living room is your primary gaming space.

Get both if: you want the full Evercade experience — solo handheld gaming and social TV-based multiplayer — sharing a single cartridge library across both.

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Not sure where to start with Evercade hardware in general? Our hardware comparison page covers every current device side by side, including the Super Pocket and EXP-R. And if you’re building out your cartridge library, check out our picks for the best Evercade cartridges to get started. Once you’ve decided, our Where to Buy guide rounds up the best retailers and deals in every region.