C64 and Spectrum Handhelds Delayed to April 2027 Over Production Quality

Retro players must wait six months longer for two pocket-sized throwbacks.

Blaze Entertainment has pushed back the release of TheC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld from release on October 15, 2026 to release on April 22, 2027, Video Games Chronicle reported. The new date covers both the standard and collector's editions of each machine.

The company said product construction was not meeting its high standards during production. It gave that quality issue as the reason for the six-month move.

The two devices are a collaboration between Blaze Entertainment and Retro Games. Both use a clamshell design, meaning they fold shut for travel and flip open to play.

Each handheld ships with 25 built-in games. Each also includes a MicroSD card slot for adding legally obtained game ROMs, digital copies of games that can be loaded from a memory card.

The screens measure 4.3 inches and use IPS display technology, a common screen type valued for clear viewing angles, with 800x480 resolution. Each unit also has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB port for keyboard or joystick support.

Each handheld will cost £109.99 / US$129.99. Pre-orders for both machines had opened ahead of their planned October 2026 release, according to Blaze's earlier announcement.

There is no knock-on effect for the company's other handheld. Blaze's Evercade Nexus remains set for release on October 30.

For players holding a pre-order, this means the same package arrives later. The wait is longer. The price, game count and features are unchanged.