Git Some Games
10,000+ titles. You've got some catchin' up to do.
Where to Find Games
The C64 library is enormous and most of it's freely available for personal use.
GameBase64 is the motherlode — over 25,000 entries catalogued with screenshots, ratings, and download links. Download the full database client for the best experience. Lemon64 has a great community review system if you want human opinions before you load something up.
Essential Titles
Start here. These are the games the machine was built for.
- Maniac Mansion — LucasArts adventure masterpiece
- Impossible Mission — "Another visitor. Stay a while…"
- Uridium — Braybrook's scrolling shooter
- Summer Games — Epyx's sports classic
- Great Giana Sisters — the legendary banned clone
The C64's catalog spans every genre. Platformers, shoot-em-ups, text adventures, RPGs, sports — it's all there. These five are a starting point, not a destination. The machine's best years were 1984–1990 and there are hundreds of gems in that window.
Joysticks & Controllers
You need a stick. The keyboard just isn't it for most C64 games.
- Competition Pro Extra USB — modern classic
- Retro-Bit USB Joystick
- DB9-to-USB adapters (Amazon search)
On original hardware: anything with a DB9 connector (Atari-standard). The original Competition Pro and TAC-2 are classics. On emulators: any USB gamepad works fine with VICE — map the joystick port in settings. For the real deal, a DB9-to-USB adapter lets you use original sticks on a modern machine.
New Games in 2026
New C64 games are still being released. The scene never stopped.
The C64 community has never stopped making new games. CSDb tracks scene releases in real time. RGCD publishes indie C64 titles as actual cartridges and disk releases — polished, commercial-quality games made in 2024–2026 for a machine from 1982. This is one of the better arguments that retrocomputing isn't just nostalgia.
Disk Images & Formats
C64 games live in disk image files. Here's what the extensions mean.
.D64 — the standard 1541 single-sided disk image. 174,848 bytes. This is what you'll find most often. Works with every emulator and most SD2IEC and 1541U2+ setups.
.D71 — 1571 double-sided disk image. ~350KB. Used by software that needed more space. Supported by modern drive emulators but not always by older SD2IEC firmware.
.D81 — 1581 3.5" disk image. ~800KB. The high-capacity format. Lots of utilities and larger releases used it. Fully supported by VICE and most modern storage mods.
.CRT — Cartridge image. Used for cartridge-based software (games, utilities). Load in VICE via File → Attach Cartridge, or flash to an EasyFlash 3. Some commercial re-releases come in this format.