z26
Discontinued Atari 2600 emulator well regarded for quality
- John SaegerDeveloper
- 26 Sep 2026Page Updated
Details
- Developer
- John Saeger
- Page Updated
Supported Systems
Platform Support
- Windows
- Linux
- macOS
Screenshots
Overview
z26 is an open source Atari 2600 emulator developed mainly by John Saeger, with help from various other contributors over the years. In its time it was regarded as a very high quality emulator. Development ended in 2011.
Older versions of z26 used the SDL library to draw graphics. The final versions switched to an OpenGL renderer and added support for Mac OS X, but dropped Linux support.
z26 emulates the Atari 2600 well, but it is more complicated to set up than most emulators, so expect to spend some time adjusting its settings before you get started.
As z26 is no longer developed, we recommend Stella, which is actively maintained.
Key Features
High Quality
Regarded in its time as a very high quality 2600 emulator.
OpenGL Renderer
Final versions switched from SDL to an OpenGL renderer.
Mac Support
Later versions added Mac OS X support but dropped Linux.
Open Source
Open source, developed mainly by John Saeger until 2011.
