Atari’s latest gaming collection, Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection, seeks not to just make the classic platforming games accessible for today’s audience, but to also preserve the franchise’s legacy, and on that latter front, the company is succeeding with flying colors.

Announced in partnership with Limited Run Games, The Purrfect Collection brings eight of the titular feline’s past games to modern hardware. These games include:

• Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind (SNES, Super Famicom, SEGA Genesis)
• Bubsy II (SNES, SEGA Genesis, Game Boy)
• Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales (Atari Jaguar)
• Bubsy 3D (Sony PlayStation)

All of these games promise to include enhanced resolution and framerates, the ability to utilize save states, as well as a rewind function so players can easily backtrack and avoid making crucial mistakes.

Like with many other Limited Run productions of classic software, these games will be running on the Carbon Engine. Developed internally at Limited Run Games, this engine boasts to emulate retro titles specifically for modern devices, featuring better UI, rendering, audio, data management, controller inputs, and console-specific elements such as trophies.

Fans hoping for improved controls, reworked levels, or any other gameplay enhancements will be disappointed, as the Purrfect Collection aims to preserve these games almost exactly as they were, hairballs and all.

Bubsy first hit the scene in 1993, at a time when most video game companies were scrambling to produce their own characters to rival the success Nintendo and SEGA found with Mario and Sonic, respectively. Originally developed and published by Accolade, the series would change ownership throughout the years, including temporarily being under Atari’s umbrella between 1994-95.

In 1996, Bubsy 3D hit store shelves for the Sony PlayStation. Being developed in a pre-Crash Bandicoot and Super Mario 64 world meant that it was one of the very first forays into 3D platforming. However, the game ultimately releasing after these seminal titles meant that the Bubsy 3D was lambasted by critics and fans alike. The clumsy controls, hard to control camera, and confusing level layout all were factors in leading the title to be declared one of the worst games of all time by numerous video gamers.

All of that is part of Bubsy’s enduring charm, says Atari, who recently reacquired the Bubsy license and adding it to their impressive repetoire of gaming brands. The retro video gaming company believes heavily in the view that there is no such thing as bad publicity. The quirky, less-than-stellar gameplay of the Bubsy titles has made the character and the games the frequent butt of many jokes and memes, all of which mean that, somehow, the cartoon cat is still relevant over thirty years later.

This collection exists so that gamers, old and new, don’t have to just hear how bad the Bubsy games were, but can check them out for themselves. Gamers that played them back in the day can relive their memories with the fast running feline, and see if the game has held up to how they remember, for better-or-worse. New gamers can create their own memes and jokes by poking fun at the imperfections of the games. Perhaps, even, they’ll discover that the games are actually better than they’d been led to believe.

In addition to these eight games, the Purrfect Collection will contain a treasure trove of video interviews with developers, high quality scans of artwork, manuals, advertisements, and other documentation, as well as a music player with access to all of the games’ soundtracks.

None of this could be possible without the assistance of Limited Run producer Audi Sorlie, says Atari. Sorlie is a super fan of the clumsy kitty, holding numerous world record speedruns across the Bubsy franchise. He has written an untold amount of literature concerning the bodacious bobcat, as well as amassed an untold number of Bubsy merchandise, development documentation, and other important behind-the-scenes materials. It’s through his dedication and passion towards the brand that the Purrfect Collection can serve as the ultimate repository for the entire history of the franchise.

The game doesn’t currently has a solid release date, but it is on track to be released this year on Steam and on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles. Fans can wishlist their Steam copies now.

Source: Atari, PAX East 2025

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