Vehicular Combat Has Never Been More Back. Atari Is Revitalizing ‘Fatal Run’ With a New Entry in the Franchise

It’s been 35 years since a new entry in the Fatal Run franchise has been released. Wait, let me correct that. It’s been 35 years since Europe has seen a new entry in the Fatal Run franchise. Folks in the USA never got a chance to partake in this particular brand of blocky vehicular combat. But now? Fatal Run 2089 is coming down the pipeline and hitting us with UE5-powered car combat. This revamped entry in the franchise is looking lean and mean. But really, I’m hoping it scratches that arcade racer itch I’ve had for a few years. It’s looking a bit like BLUR mixed with a touch of Twisted Metal. That’s more than enough to get my heart pumping and my blood boiling. I wonder if we’re still going to be a glorified delivery boy in this one?

‘Fatal Run 2089’ Looks Like It Runs on Pure Adrenaline, Mixing ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Spy Hunter’ for Good Measure

The first time I experienced Fatal Run was, ironically, just a few months ago. As one of the titles included with my review unit of the Atari 7800+, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun Fatal Run was. Now, it looks like the folks at Atari are hoping to make it a household name outside of Europe. Working with MNSTR Studio, Fatal Run 2089 looks wickedly fast and incredibly fun. Pure arcade racers like this and Burnout have fallen to the wayside in favor of photorealistic racing simulators, and we’ve never been so back. Early gameplay footage is looking incredibly promising, looking like an Xbox 360 game in all the right ways.

Using Unreal Engine 5 in a racing game can be risky, but Fatal Run 2089 looks like it’s running quite well so far. Tokyo Xtreme Racer is using UE5, and it runs like a dream on nearly every rig. As long as it’s properly optimized, Fatal Run 2089 should look, run, and feel fantastic on every platform it’s releasing on. Even though we’ve just got a rough 2025 release window, I already know I’m clearing some time out of my schedule to plow into this one. I’ve been craving something to fill in the Road Rash-sized hole in my heart. Hopefully, this revamped version of a ’90s classic can make that happen.