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Update The A1200 page with post-summer confirmed specs and sources

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- Release pushed to 4 Dec 2026 at 189.99 EUR
- Workbench 3.1 confirmed, other versions via USB
- Emulation: A1200/A500/A600/CD32, OCS/ECS/AGA/RTG
- 25 games incl. new titles, save slots
- WHDLoad + floppy/HD/CD-ROM sideloading
- 4x USB-A, third-party and legacy peripherals
- Display options, box contents, AC adapter note
- Add official + press sources
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---
title: "The A1200: What We Know Before It Ships"
title: "The A1200: Release Date, Specs and What's Included"
section: "retro"
tags: "retro"
description: "A close look at Retro Games Ltd.'s upcoming Amiga 1200 console, based on everything public so far."
description: "The A1200 by Retro Games ships 4 December 2026 with Workbench 3.1, AGA/OCS/ECS/RTG emulation and 25 pre-installed games. All the confirmed specs, as of September 2026."
layout: base.njk
parent: "/retro/"
---
<h1>The A1200: What We Know Before It Ships</h1>
<h1>The A1200: Release Date, Specs and What's Included</h1>
<div class="detail-content">
<p>Retro Games Ltd. opened pre-orders for The A1200 in November 2025, with delivery slated for June 2026 at a suggested price of 189.99 Euro. As with their previous mini-consoles, official details have trickled out slowly, deliberately, it seems.</p>
<p>Retro Games Ltd. has been drip-feeding details about The A1200, a full-size reimagining of the classic Amiga 1200, for well over a year. Since the summer, most of the open questions have been answered officially, so this is a summary of everything that's now confirmed, as of September 2026.</p>
<h2>What's Confirmed So Far</h2>
<h2>Release date and price</h2>
<p>The A1200 was originally announced with a June 2026 delivery, but was pushed back several times. It now launches on <strong>Friday 4 December 2026</strong> at a suggested price of <strong>189.99 Euro</strong>. A USB-C power cable is included, but the AC adapter is not, so you'll need your own power supply or a phone charger.</p>
<h2>Workbench and software</h2>
<p>The biggest addition since the initial announcement is that the machine ships with <strong>Workbench 3.1</strong> pre-installed and ready to boot. This means it's not just a games machine, you can also run Amiga productivity and creative software right out of the box. Via a USB stick you can load other Workbench versions, so a preferred release can be selected.</p>
<h2>Emulation coverage</h2>
<p>Rather than a single fixed core, The A1200 emulates several Amiga configurations:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Games</strong>, 25 titles pre-installed in total, with only 9 officially confirmed at time of writing: the Turrican trilogy, Defender of the Crown I & II, Beneath a Steel Sky, Lure of the Temptress, Ruff 'n' Tumble, and The Settlers II. The rest are being held back, likely on purpose, as a marketing drip-feed.</li>
<li><strong>Hardware essentials</strong>, a fully functional keyboard in the original design, a CD32-style gamepad, a tank-mouse replica, HDMI output, USB-A ports, and USB sideloading support for ADF/HDF game files.</li>
<li><strong>The mystery SD slot</strong>, a slot spotted at Gamescom 2025 in the position of the original floppy drive, widely speculated to be for SD-card-based game loading, but not officially confirmed.</li>
<li><strong>Expected internals</strong>, likely an Allwinner ARM SoC running Amiberry underneath (following the pattern of the earlier A500 Mini), rather than genuine 68EC020 silicon.</li>
<li><strong>Amiga 1200 (AGA)</strong>, the headline machine.</li>
<li><strong>Amiga 500 (OCS)</strong>, <strong>Amiga 600 (ECS)</strong> and the <strong>CD32</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>RTG support</strong>, a newly developed feature that lets compatible software run at higher screen resolutions than the original chipset allowed.</li>
<li>RAM, CPU and chipset settings are adjustable, so different Amiga hardware configurations can be reproduced.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Games</h2>
<p>There are 25 games pre-installed, launched from a simple carousel. The line-up includes Defender of the Crown I &amp; II, the Turrican trilogy, Beneath a Steel Sky, Lure of the Temptress, Ruff 'n' Tumble, The Settlers II, Slam Tilt, Rocket Ranger and the newer Amiga title Reshoot Proxima 3.</p>
<p>Each game gets four save slots, while The Settlers II adds six in-game save slots. Controls can be remapped, assigning controller buttons and analogue inputs to keyboard, mouse and joystick functions.</p>
<h2>Loading your own software</h2>
<p>Legally acquired Amiga software can be sideloaded via USB stick. This includes full <strong>WHDLoad</strong> support as well as floppy, hard-drive and CD-ROM images. Games can be saved and resumed at any time, which helps with the punishingly difficult classics.</p>
<h2>Hardware and ports</h2>
<p>The A1200 keeps the original full-size design with a fully working keyboard. There are <strong>four USB-A ports</strong> for gamepads, joysticks, mice and USB flash drives, and third-party controllers and keyboards are supported. With an appropriate adapter, even original Amiga peripherals can be used.</p>
<p>For display output it offers 50 Hz PAL and 60 Hz NTSC, plus scaling modes, CRT effects, smart crop and aspect ratio settings over HDMI.</p>
<h2>What's in the box</h2>
<ul>
<li>The A1200 home computer</li>
<li>THEMOUSE, a 2-button USB mouse</li>
<li>THEGAMEPAD, an 8-button USB gamepad</li>
<li>USB-C power supply cable (AC adapter not included)</li>
<li>HDMI cable</li>
<li>Quickstart manual</li>
</ul>
<h2>Context: where this fits in the retro landscape</h2>
<p>The A1200 sits in a growing market of mini-consoles and FPGA recreations.
Unlike MiSTer FPGA, which aims for cycle-accurate hardware reproduction,
the A1200 is a software emulation box, similar to the A500 Mini that
Retro Games Ltd. released in 2022. The A500 Mini was well-received but
had its quirks: limited game selection, no keyboard support, and an
emulation layer that didn't quite match the original hardware in all
cases. The A1200 appears to address some of these criticisms, particularly
with the keyboard and expanded I/O.</p>
<h2>How it compares to alternatives</h2>
<p>For someone who wants to run Amiga software today, there are several
options. A real A1200 with a compact flash adapter and a modern LCD
monitor is the purist approach, but requires maintenance and debugging.
MiSTer FPGA offers near-perfect hardware reproduction but costs
significantly more. Amiberry on a Raspberry Pi is the budget option,
with good compatibility but occasional timing issues. The A1200
positions itself as a plug-and-play alternative, set it up in minutes,
no configuration required, at the cost of some flexibility.</p>
<p>The A1200 sits in a growing market of mini-consoles and FPGA recreations. Unlike MiSTer FPGA, which aims for cycle-accurate hardware reproduction, the A1200 is a software emulation box, similar to the A500 Mini that Retro Games Ltd. released in 2022. The A500 Mini was well-received but had its quirks, and the A1200 addresses some of those criticisms, particularly with the working keyboard and expanded I/O.</p>
<p>There's a legitimate debate about software emulation versus FPGA in 2026, and some of the Amiga community is waiting for a full FPGA-based Amiga. But at 189.99 Euro, the A1200 is an approachable plug-and-play entry point that ships with a real Workbench and strong sideloading support.</p>
<h2>What this means for the Amiga community</h2>
<p>If the A1200 ships on time and delivers on the promised feature set,
it could become the default entry point for people curious about the
Amiga. The original hardware is getting harder to find in good condition,
and the capacitor-bomb motherboard issue means that even working units need
recapping. A modern, reliable reproduction, even if it's software
emulation, lowers the barrier significantly. The 25 pre-installed games
give newcomers a curated starting point, and the USB sideloading support
means the library can be expanded without hardware modifications.</p>
<p>The original hardware is getting harder to find in good condition, and the capacitor-bomb motherboard issue means that even working units need recapping. A modern, reliable reproduction, even as software emulation, lowers the barrier significantly. The 25 pre-installed games give newcomers a curated starting point, and the USB sideloading support means the library can be expanded without hardware modifications.</p>
<p class="redacted-note">Worth a heads-up if you're pre-ordering: not every regional shop went live on launch day, and lesser-known international retailers sometimes get product photos and details before the official site does. With a seven-month wait to delivery, there's no rush to jump on the very first listing you find.</p>
<h2>Sources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://retrogames.biz/products/thea1200/" target="_blank">Retro Games: official THEA1200 product page</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.gamersglobal.de/news/347901/the-a1200-infos-zu-betriebssystem-unterstuetzter-peripherie-und-mehr" target="_blank">GamersGlobal: Workbench, supported peripherals and more (July 2026)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://collectors-junkies.com/retro-games-thea1200-ab-dezember-2026/" target="_blank">Collectors-Junkies: THEA1200 from December 2026 (August 2026)</a></li>
</ul>
</div>