Overview
- Commodore opened pre-orders for the TAC-2 joystick on Tuesday, August 11, offering immediate purchase through its online store.
- Four standard models — BASIC Beige, C= White, Knight Black, and Starlight — are priced at $49.99 and a limited Founders Edition with gold PVD accents costs $64.
- The new TAC-2 keeps the original ball-and-contact feel but swaps the historic TR418 tyre-valve and brass-ball shaft for a chrome-plated, single-piece solid steel shaft to address rare stress fractures in some originals.
- CEO Peri Fractic framed the release as a faithful re-release of the original’s tactile history intended for retro players and collectors who find working vintage TAC-2 units increasingly scarce.
- The relaunch follows Commodore’s recent C64 Ultimate and reflects a wider retro-hardware trend by making a durable, 1983-era peripheral widely available again and easing demand for costly secondhand originals.