Atari 2600 online emulator

Play your own Atari 2600 ROM files in the browser. Choose a cartridge image from your computer or drop it on the screen above, and the Javatari emulator starts it straight away. Nothing is installed and the file never leaves your computer.

Load your own Atari 2600 ROM

or drop the file here · .a26 .bin .rom .zip .gz

The file is read by your browser and is not uploaded anywhere.

  • ← ↑ ↓ → Joystick
  • Space Fire
  • F12 Reset
  • F11 Select
  • F4 / F9 Difficulty
  • T F G H / A Player 2

How to use the Atari 2600 online emulator

  1. Click Choose a ROM file above, or drag the file from a folder onto the black screen.
  2. The emulator loads and the cartridge starts. Most games wait on a title or demo screen: press F12 (the console’s Reset switch) to begin.
  3. Use F11 (Select) to step through the game variations before you press Reset.
  4. To try another file, reload the page and choose again.

Supported files

Atari 2600 cartridge images usually end in .a26 or .bin; .rom files also work, and so do .zip and .gz archives that contain a ROM. Javatari recognises the common bank-switching schemes on its own, so larger cartridges and Starpath Supercharger images load without extra settings.

Controls

The keys are the same as on every Atari 2600 game page on this site: the arrow keys move the joystick, Space fires, F12 is Reset, F11 is Select, and F4 / F9 flip the left and right difficulty switches. The second player uses T F G H and fires with A. Paddle games switch to paddle mode automatically. Ctrl+0–9 saves the game in a slot and Alt+0–9 loads it again.

If a ROM does not start

  • Make sure it really is an Atari 2600 file. Atari 5200 (.a52) and 7800 (.a78) cartridges need their own emulators: see the links on the right.
  • A rolling or flickering picture usually means a European PAL ROM. The game still runs, but colours and speed can differ from the American NTSC version.
  • Some homebrew and prototype files are damaged dumps. If a ROM shows only a black screen, try another copy of it.
  • Games that need special hardware, such as the Kid Vid voice module or the keyboard controllers, may start but cannot be fully played with a keyboard.

About the emulator

The emulator is Javatari, an open-source Atari 2600 emulator written in JavaScript by Paulo Augusto Peccin. It runs entirely in your browser: the ROM is read from your disk into the page, and it is not sent to our server. Please use only ROM files you have the right to use.

Prefer to play right away?

More than 600 Atari 2600 games are ready to play on this site without any file. Start with the A–Z listing, or try Pitfall!, River Raid or Adventure.