Cyberpunk 2077 Edition of Commodore 77 Debuts at Gamescom, Now Available for Preorder

When I reviewed the Commodore 64 Ultimate, I was genuinely blown away by its perfection. It exceeded my expectations in ways I never anticipated, clearly born from a deep love and respect for the brand. That's why I gave it a perfect 10 in my review. It's a masterpiece, and now Commodore has officially unveiled a stunning new collaboration with CD Projekt Red: the Commodore 77.

The case itself is a work of art, with the function key plate now made from real brushed metal—not just a finish, but actual brushed metal. The rest of the case has been redesigned to match the Cyberpunk aesthetic, the Commodore 64 badge has been replaced with a Commodore 77 badge, and there are other subtle changes that you really need to see to appreciate. The entire case has a weathered, suitably cyberpunk look, but just like with people, it's what's inside that counts.

Aside from the new look, the Commodore 77 now runs at a blistering 77 MHz, compared to the original Commodore 64's 1 MHz. It also boasts 77 MB of system RAM, up from the Ultimate's 16 MB. While this new speed and power is impressive (for the 1980s), it could make some of your hand-written programs run impossibly fast, but you can toggle the higher speed on and off in the menus.

Speaking of menus, the C77 also features a custom Cyberpunk 2077 themed Commodore 77 BASIC 2.0 boot screen, continuing the overall Cyberpunk vibe. The famous spiral-bound manual that ships with each Commodore 64 has also received a Cyberpunk makeover, and comes 'packed with lore and exclusive Cyberpunk 2077-themed type-in BASIC programs.' It's exactly the kind of thing old-timers like me crave.

Each Commodore 77 ships with a shard-inspired Arasaka cartridge containing a demo created by Polish demo group Arise, with a soundtrack composed by chiptune artist LukHash. This is an old-school computer demo, the kind hackers used to distribute to show off their skills. I've seen it—it's incredible. It's hard to believe what people can achieve with such limited computational power, but the soundtrack benefits enormously from the 24-track stereo SID chip that's part of the Ultimate.

Given how well Commodore did with its modern debut, I have no doubt the C77 will be similarly awesome, especially with such a pedigree behind the collaboration. Did I mention it comes with stickers, pins, and 'collectible themed packaging'?

Oh, and it has LED lights that dance to the music on the demo. It's basically everything I didn't know I wanted.

Preorders are live on Commodore's website for $377, with an expected release date sometime next year. For my part, I welcome our Cyberpunk and Commodore retro future.