Legendary video game designer turned psychotherapist Howard Scott Warshaw has repeatedly teased over the last few years in interviews, that he would be returning to game development to create a sequel to his hit 1982 Atari 2600 game Yars’ Revenge for both the 2600 and the modern machines, but nothing has come of it with Atari instead releasing a new version for the Atari 50th collection and will be teaming up with WayForward on a Metroidvania entitled Yars’ Rising, coming out later this year.
Fans have wanted to know what happened to this “true sequel”, and so the website Time Extension, contacted Warshaw to find out more about the game. Warshaw had previously outlined the game back in 2022, and would have been set on Yars’ training grounds and saw the players acquiring the skills to defeat the Qotile. Warshaw explained to Time Extention that he and Atari once had an agreement in place to develop a sequel to the game and were working directly together, but the company put the project on hold after a design was put together, as Atari “was not in a position to do the development at that time.”
There is some news though, as Warshaw claims that he’s now trying to get the game off the ground with another developer he’s been talking to and noted that is has been having some slow talks “with Atari people about getting this game development on the schedule.” Since Atari owns the rights to Yars, Warshaw needs their involvement to see the project come to life. Warshaw noted that there is no agreement or plan in place with Atari, but “a design exists” and is “ready to begin implementation when they are”, and that he believes some fan input may “accelerate” these talks, by showing the company that there’s an interest in seeing a new Yars game “that expands the story enormously and creates NEW gameplay”.
