COMPUTE!’s Gazette – Volume 1 – Issue 1 – July, 2025
Dan Sanderson
The history of computing is filled with “what ifs,” but few are as tantalizing as the Commodore 65. Planned as a powerful successor to the C64, it was cancelled before release, with only a handful of prototypes ever seeing the light of day. In this month’s “MEGA Horizons” column, Dan Sanderson chronicles the incredible ten-year journey of the MEGA65 project—an open-source, community-driven effort to resurrect this mythical machine and fulfill its promise.
But that’s not all. The column kicks off with a bombshell announcement that will have every MEGA65 owner scrambling for their user guides.
The Great MEGA65 Easter Egg Hunt Begins!
Hidden within every single MEGA65 computer is a multi-step Easter egg, a series of mind-bending puzzles designed by the creators. And the prize for the first person to find it is a piece of computing history:
The very first working MEGA65 prototype, shown at AMIGA 30 in Germany in 2015. This “unicorn computer,” with an insurance value of over $15,000 USD, is signed by computing legends like Dave Haynie and RJ Mical. The hunt is on, and it’s a challenge that has gone undiscovered for years. Will you be the one to claim the crown?
From a Cancelled Prototype to a Modern Marvel
The column provides a fascinating history of the project, from its origins in the twilight of Commodore to its current status as a cornerstone of the modern retro scene.
- Commodore’s Final Years: Learn about the original C65, a project that aimed to be a powerful 8-bit successor to the C128 but was cancelled in 1991. The few existing prototypes became legendary artifacts after Commodore went out of business.
- A New Beginning: The story of the MEGA65 begins with engineer Paul Gardner-Stephen, who owned one of these rare prototypes. His experience inspired him to create a new, FPGA-based computer that would capture the spirit of the C65.
- Joining Forces: In 2014, Paul’s project merged with the Museum of Electronic Games & Art (MEGA), and the MEGA65 was officially born. The goal was to create an open-hardware, open-source computer that was historically accurate but also featured modern conveniences like digital video output and Ethernet.
- The Road to Release: The path to production was a decade-long labor of love, funded by the community and driven by a team of volunteer developers. From creating injection molds for the classic case to writing an all-new KERNAL ROM and a professional-quality user’s guide, every step was a testament to the community’s passion. After navigating global supply chain disruptions, the MEGA65 finally reached general availability in 2024.
The Next 10 Years
The MEGA65 is more than just a piece of hardware; it’s a platform for a thriving community. Its layered design welcomes everyone from hardware hackers and KERNAL coders to game makers and BASIC learners. Thanks to its powerful FPGA, it can even reconfigure itself to become other classic computers, with highly accurate cores for the C64, PET, and VIC-20 already available.
The project continues to evolve, with the team steadily working towards a stable v1.0 release while exploring future enhancements. The MEGA65 stands as a powerful example of how a passionate community can not only preserve history but build upon it, creating a bridge between the golden age of 8-bit computing and the future.
Read the full story and discover more about the world of retro computing in the first issue of COMPUTE!’s Gazette in 35 years!
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