Blaze Entertainment Delays THEC64, Spectrum Handhelds to April 2027

Blaze Entertainment said on September 29, 2026, that THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld will now release on April 22, 2027, moving both clamshell handhelds from their planned October 15, 2026 launch after the company identified areas of product construction that it said were not meeting its standards.

The date change was announced in a statement on the HyperMegaTech website and applies to both the standard and collector’s editions of each handheld.

“During production, we identified areas where the product construction was not meeting our high standards,” the company wrote. “While we could address some issues quickly and release the products in 2026, we believe taking this additional time is the right decision to give you the best experience possible.”

Blaze acknowledged the news would be disappointing and thanked customers for their patience and continued support.

The statement added that the Evercade Nexus, the company’s other upcoming handheld, is not affected by the change and remains on track for release on October 30, 2026.

Announced With Retro Games in April 2026

The two handhelds were unveiled on April 30, 2026, in a joint announcement from Blaze Entertainment and Retro Games Ltd datelined Letchworth, UK. The devices are licensed by Retro Games Ltd and created by the makers of the Super Pocket consoles, built around the question of what the home computers behind THEC64 and The Spectrum would have looked like as portable machines in the 1980s.

Each unit follows the colour scheme of its namesake machine, with THEC64 Handheld finished in retro beige and The Spectrum Handheld in classic black. The clamshell case design draws on earlier gaming handhelds as well as the portable computers, palmtops and organisers of the 1980s.

“Bringing these experiences into a brand-new handheld form feels like a natural next step,” Blaze chief executive Andrew Byatt said in the April announcement. Paul Andrews, managing director of Retro Games Ltd, said the companies were delighted to be working together on the two devices.

Blaze Entertainment, formed in 2018 and based in the UK, created the Evercade cartridge ecosystem and launched the HyperMegaTech brand in 2023 with the Super Pocket line. The company states on its corporate website that it has sold 1.5 million cartridges. Retro Games Ltd holds the THEC64 and The Spectrum trademarks and has produced modern recreations including THEC64, THEC64 Mini, The Spectrum, THE400, THEVIC20 and THEA500 Mini.

Hardware and Controls

According to the official specification sheet, both handhelds measure 136mm wide, 26mm high and 86mm deep, weigh 235g and run on a quad-core 1.2GHz processor with 256MB of DDR RAM. Each unit carries a 4.3-inch 840×480 IPS screen, front-facing stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack, while a 2000mAh battery rated at more than three hours of play charges over USB-C with a cable included.

Controls comprise a D-Pad, four face buttons and menu, start and select keys, plus four mappable function keys made to resemble the keys of the original machines — tactile plastic on THEC64 Handheld and rubber on The Spectrum Handheld. A simple on-off switch and a volume button complete the layout.

A MicroSD slot lets owners load their own games, including homebrew titles, and a rear USB-A port supports an external keyboard or joystick. The bespoke user interface presents each game in a style modelled on the original computer interfaces and includes save and load states, screen options and game information.

THEC64 Handheld can emulate the C64, C64C, C64SX and PET64 in PAL and NTSC variants, plus the C64 GS. The Spectrum Handheld supports the Spectrum 16K, 48K, 48K (NTSC), 128K, +2, +2A, +3 and +3e models, with CPU underclocking and overclocking supported.

Pricing, Editions and Games

Standard editions are priced at £109.99, $129.99 or €129.99 and were put up for pre-order through Amazon, Funstock and Evercade retailers across Europe and the US, with the console, a quick start guide and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable in the box.

Collector’s Editions are exclusive to Funstock, limited to 2,000 units of each handheld and priced at £129.99, $149.99 or €149.99. Each package adds a hard shell carry case coloured to match the console and an exclusive magazine: a specially produced Zzap! for THEC64 Handheld and a Crash! for The Spectrum Handheld, both expanding on the games included with features and interviews.

Each handheld ships with 25 built-in games. THEC64 Handheld’s library includes A Pig Quest, Sam’s Journey, Nebulus, Boulder Dash, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, Paradroid, Hunter’s Moon Remastered, Knight ‘n’ Grail, Aztec Challenge and Galencia. The Spectrum Handheld’s line-up features Head Over Heels, Manic Miner, Skool Daze, The Great Escape, Bounder, Switchblade, Nightmare Rally, M.O.V.I.E., Where Time Stood Still and Starquake.

The Evercade Nexus was dated for October 30, 2026 in a separate Blaze announcement on August 6, 2026, priced at £169.99, $199.99 or €199.99 with the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack cartridge included in every box. The Nexus features analogue sticks for 3D gameplay, a 5.3-inch screen and EverSync, a local-multiplayer feature using wireless sharing, and is available to pre-order from Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop, Argos and other retailers across the US, Canada and Europe.

Blaze closed its delay statement by thanking customers for their support and understanding, confirming that both home computer handhelds will launch on April 22, 2027.