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This is a list of games for the Atari 2600 video game console, totaling more than 565 games, divided into the following sections: games published by Atari and Sears, games published by third parties during the 2600's production run, and later homebrew releases. The Atari 2600 was first released in North America on September 11, 1977 and featured nine launch titles: Air-Sea Battle, Basic Math, Blackjack, Combat, Indy 500, Star Ship, Street Racer, Surround and Video Olympics. The final licensed Atari 2600 game released in North America was Secret Quest in 1989, and the final licensed game released in Europe was Klax and Acid Drop in 1990 and 1992.
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Games published by Atari and Sears
All 136 of the initial era of Atari 2600 games were developed and manufactured by Atari, Inc. These games were published by Atari, and many were also licensed to Sears, which released these games under its Tele-Games brand, often with different titles. Sears's Tele-Games brand was unrelated to the company Telegames, which also produced cartridges for the Atari 2600 (mostly re-issues of M Network games.)
Three games were also produced by Atari Inc. for Sears as exclusive releases under the Tele-Games brand: Steeplechase, Stellar Track, and Submarine Commander.
Games published by third parties
As the Atari 2600 console grew in popularity, other game developers, such as Activision and Imagic, entered the market and published more than 380 of their own cartridges for the Atari 2600. Many of the most popular Atari 2600 titles, such as Pitfall! and Demon Attack, are third-party titles.
Homebrew cartridges
With more than 49 titles in this category, the Atari 2600 is a popular platform for homebrew projects. Unlike later systems, the Atari 2600 does not require a modchip to run homebrew cartridges. Although there is one high-level compiler available — batari Basic — most development for the Atari 2600 is still done in 6502 assembly language. The 2600 lacks video memory, has only 128 bytes of RAM, and requires precise timing; homebrews written in assembly are typically considered programming challenges.
In 2003, Activision selected several homebrew 2600 titles for inclusion in the Game Boy Advance version of their Activision Anthology, as indicated below.