Atari has revealed that it will soon be releasing a brand new game in the Breakout series, from the developers of the Bit.Trip series, Choice Provisions.
Breakout Beyond is described as "a vibrant new reimagining" of Atari's 1976 arcade game and is a reworking of an earlier unreleased Breakout game that was announced as an exclusive for the ill-fated Intellivision Amico back in 2020. As a spokesperson for Atari states, the company saw promise in the concept, believing that it perfectly "preserv[ed] the heart of Breakout’s gameplay while also giving the formula a completely new spin", so the company decided to take over the ownership of the game, working alongside Choice Provision to rework the project for PC and modern consoles.
The game features a fresh new horizontal perspective that sees players blasting their way sideways through walls upon walls of colourful blocks, with the ultimate goal being to reach the end of each stage and progress on to the next level.
There are 72 levels to play through in total, as well as an additional endless mode (with an online leaderboard), and a two-player local co-op option to let you experience the game along with a friend. It also includes a bunch of procedural audio and visual effects, which will reportedly change in intensity with each new combo reached.
It is scheduled to be released later this year across Xbox, PS4/PS5, PC (via Steam), Atari VCS, and Nintendo Switch, though no precise date has been revealed just yet.
Here's the trailer for the game: