Rare Atari Games Worth Thousands That May Be Hiding In Your Attic

After dominating the industry until the video game crash of 1983, the Atari 2600 and its cartridge-based games have become retro collectibles. No, we're not talking about "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," considered the worst video game in history, but games that saw relatively limited production runs. That means these games have had their value increase dramatically in the decades since their launch, especially for discerning collectors. And if a rarity is well-preserved, particularly if it comes with the original packaging in near-mint condition, it can be worth thousands of dollars.

Atari 2600 games like "Asteroids" and "Missile Command" can be found in dollar bins at any goodwill or retro video game store. We're talking about the titles that were hard to come by in the '80s once Nintendo began to take over the industry. Whether it's games carried in limited quantities by retailers for content reasons or rare tie-ins, these games fetch a high price on the aftermarket. Here are rare Atari games that can be worth thousands in the right condition — which just may be hiding in your or a relative's attic.

Atari capitalized on the success of the first Christopher Reeve-led Superman movie in 1978 by releasing an Atari 2600 game the following year. Simply titled "Superman," the game has the Man of Steel repair a destroyed bridge and bust Lex Luthor and his gang. To achieve the highest score, players must complete these objectives and return to the Daily Planet building where Clark Kent works in the shortest amount of time. Superman can be hurt and depowered if he's hit by kryptonite satellites, with his powers restored if he reunites with Lois Lane.

Despite being based on DC Comics' flagship superhero, 1979's "Superman" is actually extremely rare to find. What makes the game such a valuable commodity in the collectors' market is that there were multiple versions of the title produced, including retailer variants with different fonts and cover art. Depending on the rarity of the variant and the overall quality of the game itself, copies routinely sell for anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000. One might expect a property as big as Superman to be more common in the Atari's game library, but the Man of Tomorrow comes at a high cost for discerning enthusiasts.

The rarest Atari 2600 game is reportedly the 1982 title "Air Raid," developed and published by Men-A-Vision. The game situates players not in the role of the titular raider but the one fighting off the aerial attackers. Players control a ship defending two buildings from bombs being dropped by enemy spacecraft, flitting between the two structures to destroy the bombs. The game was produced on a striking blue cartridge with a T-shaped handle, in contrast to the usual black cartridges with flat ends.

Only a handful of copies of "Air Raid" are known to exist, with some estimates placing the number of remaining copies in the world at 13. That means loose "Air Raid" cartridges can sell for as much as $10,000 whenever they appear at auctions. Complete versions of the game, with the instruction manual and original packaging, are even rarer and more expensive, selling for over $30,000. If there's any chance that you might have a copy of "Air Raid" floating around, you could be sitting on a tidy sum.

For a major corporate event in 1983, The Coca-Cola Company gave executives custom copies of a game it commissioned Atari to produce. Titled "Pepsi Invaders," the game was essentially a reskin of "Space Invaders" with a prominent dig towards Coca-Cola's biggest competitor, Pepsi. The row of descending aliens now spell out "PEPSI," with the spaceship routinely passing at the top of the screen resembling the Pepsi logo. It's also effectively impossible for the player to lose, as they're given unlimited lives while they try to see how many enemies they can destroy in a three-minute time limit.

This bizarre soda-themed Atari game was never meant for public consumption, let alone mass-market distribution, with its production run limited to 125 copies. This all, of course, makes "Pepsi Invaders" incredibly rare and valuable in the 40+ years since its quiet debut. Currently, the game can fetch just under $2,000 on eBay for a loose cartridge, with a complete version of the game averaging $3,500. An elaborate corporate joke between soft drink rivals, "Pepsi Invaders" is one of the more expensive versions of "Space Invaders" around.

Several hit '70s horror franchises got tie-in games for the Atari 2600 in 1983, in the form of "Halloween" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." The latter game actually had players controlling Leatherface instead of the slasher's prospective victims. Using his signature chainsaw, Leatherface carves up hapless trespassers on his property, dodging obstacles along the way. Killing characters not only awards Leatherface points but also helps refuel his chainsaw, with the game concluding once the chainsaw is completely spent.

Even with its rudimentary design, consistent with other Atari titles, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was a horror game deemed too disturbing for kids. In response, many retailers refused to carry the game at all, severely limiting the number of sales and produced copies of the title. That means just the cartridge can fetch prices over $300, while the full package, including the instruction manual and packaging, can cost nearly $2,000. For something based on a low-budget indie movie, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is a prized asset for any Atari collector lucky enough to have a copy.

Just like the subsequent Nintendo Entertainment System, the Atari 2600 received unlicensed Christian-themed games. The rarest of these titles was 1983's "Red Sea Crossing," developed and programmed by Steve Schustack. The game has players navigate Moses following the biblical account of him parting the Red Sea to escape from Egypt. Moses must avoid obstacles and the pursuing Egyptians' attacks as he tries to get to the other side of the parted sea before the time limit expires.

Owing to its unlicensed status as a self-published game, "Red Sea Crossing" was only available for purchase through a special mail order. That means Schustack, through his self-made company, only produced a handful of copies of the game based on the low order numbers. Because of this particularly limited run, the game's existence wasn't widespread public knowledge until its discovery at a yard sale in 2007. Nowadays, loose copies of "Red Sea Crossing" sell for an average price of $15,000 whenever one goes on the market.