# z26

> z26 is an open source Atari 2600 emulator by John Saeger, well regarded for its accuracy. Development ended in 2011, and Stella is the maintained alternative.

Web page: https://emulationking.com/atari/2600/emulator/z26/
Page updated: 2026-09-26

- Developer: John Saeger
- Supported systems: Atari 2600
- Runs on: Windows, Linux, macOS

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.

## Latest builds

Download these from the web page: https://emulationking.com/atari/2600/emulator/z26/#download

- for Windows: 4.07
- for macOS: 4.07
- Source Code: 4.07