In 1987, California Games took Epyx’s successful Games formula out of the Olympic arena and into the sunshine of the West Coast. Instead of traditional sports, players competed in six laid-back, outdoor events: Half-pipe skateboarding, Footbag (Hacky Sack), Surfing, Roller Skating, Flying Disc, and BMX biking. Each event had its own rhythm and mechanics, offering a mix of stunt timing, precision control, and creative play. Players could compete solo or take turns in multiplayer mode, choosing a sponsor from a list of fictional brands. The visual style and music helped cement the game’s beachy, casual vibe, and the addition of event-specific mascots (like “Rippin’ Rick” in the Surfing event) gave each segment a little personality. Although some ports trimmed the event list for hardware reasons, the core experience was consistent across systems. Originally released for the Apple II and Commodore 64, California Games became a bestseller and was eventually ported to nearly every major platform of the time—including being the launch pack-in game for the Atari Lynx. It remains one of the most iconic titles in the Epyx catalog and helped define the spirit of ‘80s sports gaming.

We’re thrilled to pre-announce that we’re working on a revival of this title with one of our development partners and it’s looking great!   Once we get some in-game footage of playing through a complete level or scene, we’ll post it on our site with some more details.  And while this title is currently licensed, we have many others in The Games series that we’d love to revive as well.