iam8bit, Video Game History Foundation, and Mega Cat Studios team up to bring back lost NES game Xcavator
Due out in Q2 2026.
iam8bit has partnered with the Video Game History Foundation, Mega Cat Studios, and Retrotainment Games to bring programmer Chris Oberth’s long-long Nintendo Entertainment System game Xcavator back from the dead as Xcavatar 2025, also for Nintendo Entertainment System. It will launch as a premium physical release with a cartridge of the game and new manual. Pre-order are available now for $100 via iam8bit, with shipping to begin in Q2 2026.
“The original Xcavator prototype is a rare glimpse at the struggles of an indie developer trying to break into the console industry during the 8-bit golden age,” said Video Game History Foundation founder and director Frank Cifaldi in a press release. “The world wasn’t ready for it in 1991, but thanks to Oberth saving his work—and to his family for getting it into archivist hands—2026 will be the year that his work will finally see the light of day. This is an important piece of game history and we’re proud to be able to raise awareness for it with the help of everyone involved.”
Here is an overview of the new release, via iam8bit:
This one-of-a-kind premium physical release comes with an Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge of the game and a brand-new manual, featuring further insights into the game and Oberth authored by the team at the Video Game History Foundation. In addition, 100 percent of the profits will go to supporting the Video Game History Foundation’s mission to preserve and celebrate the history of video games.
Fans of video games and their preservation can pre-order the product for $100 starting today at iam8bit.com. Pre-orders close on Monday, January 10, and the physical game is expected to ship in Q2 2026. Supporters of the Video Game History Foundation can also donate to the team’s Winter Fundraiser event here.
Originally developed at Incredible Technologies Inc., the company behind coin-op classics like Golden Tee Golf, Big Buck Hunter. and more, Xcavator was shopped around to multiple publishers across the country in 1991, but never found a home, and was quietly archived and never looked at again. After the original source code was donated by Oberth’s family to the Video Game History Foundation, the game was rebuilt in partnership with Mega Cat Studios. and Incredible Technologies agreed to donate the rights to the Video Game History Foundation to preserve the game intellectual property and aid the charity’s fundraising for its work within the videogames industry. Through a collective effort rooted in passion and altruism, Xcavator is now finished, staying true to Oberth’s original vision, using the same tools that would’ve been used to fully develop the title in 1991.
iam8bit worked with Retrotainment to produce a classic gray Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge. The cartridge will be packed in with a 14-page manual, authored by the Video Game History Foundation. Retro gaming fans who grew up in the Nintendo Entertainment System era will find a lovingly crafted nod to manuals of the past with an additional special segment of the book dedicated to the history of Xcavator, Oberth, the studio and more, making for a release that players and retro enthusiasts can display proudly for years to come.
Watch the announcement video below