The Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum Are Coming Back as Clamshell Handhelds — And No, This Isn't a Fan-Made Concept

Four decades later, legendary home computers Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum are getting a second life in a pocket-sized format. Blaze Entertainment and Retro Games Ltd have announced two portable clamshells — The C64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld.

Design-wise, the newcomers look like a mashup of classic microcomputers and the Nintendo 3DS, which is currently enjoying a bizarre surge in popularity. The shell sports the iconic color schemes of the originals, and each console weighs in at 235 grams, measuring 136 x 26 x 86 mm. Both devices feature a 4.3-inch IPS display with an 800x480 resolution. The 2000 mAh battery lasts roughly three hours of gameplay, and charging is done via USB-C. Connectivity options also include a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB-A port on the side — you can plug in an external keyboard or joystick if using the built-in D-Pad and action buttons feels too cramped. The keys are styled after the original keyboards. The Spectrum version gets those characteristic rubber keys, while the C64 uses plastic ones. Four extra function buttons can be remapped per game.

Each console comes with 25 pre-installed games, and the lineups are clearly different. On the Spectrum, you’ll find Manic Miner, Head Over Heels, Skool Daze, The Great Escape, Starquake, plus a handful of lesser-known but cult-classic titles for the platform. The C64 model packs Boulder Dash, Paradroid, Nebulus, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, Sam's Journey, and others.

The biggest technical difference from many retro devices like these is microSD support. Owners will be able to load their own game ROMs — either legally purchased or dumped from original media. The firmware can emulate several hardware revisions of each platform: for the ZX Spectrum, you get modes ranging from 16K all the way to +3e, plus manual CPU overclocking or underclocking; for the C64, options go from the classic PAL/NTSC model up to the C64 GS.

The retail price for the base version of each console will be $129.99. Blaze Entertainment’s head, Andrew Byatt, described the C64 and Spectrum as two of the most iconic names in video game history, cherished by multiple generations of players. In his words, moving these platforms into a new portable format was a natural next step — both for longtime fans and for those discovering them for the first time.

Which of the two speaks to you more — the Commodore or the Spectrum? And what do you think these devices are missing to become a true mass‑market hit? Drop your thoughts in the comments.