# VARTA Is Dead, New S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Episode, Thimbleweed Park 2 & More - Ramble 167

> In this episode I talk about the death of VARTA, the undeath of Arcade1Up, Minecraft's system requirements, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's new episode Cost of Hope, the PSN outage, a rare Mario / Duck Hunt cartridge haul, DOOM on the C64, DOOM on regex, Thimbleweed Park 2, Gremlin Graphics Classics & more!

- Canonical URL: https://ctrl-alt-rees.com/2026-07-31-varta-is-dead-new-s-t-a-l-k-e-r-2-episode-thimbleweed-park-2-more-ramble-167.html
- Published: 2026-07-31
- Last updated: 2026-08-01
- Author: Rees (ctrl-alt-rees)
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg (1:09:19)
- Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0 UK (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/), unless stated otherwise below

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg

In this episode I talk about the death of VARTA, the undeath of Arcade1Up, Minecraft's system requirements, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's new episode Cost of Hope, the PSN outage, a rare Mario / Duck Hunt cartridge haul, DOOM on the C64, DOOM on regex, Thimbleweed Park 2, Gremlin Graphics Classics & more!

## Chapters
* [00:00:00 – Retro Collective Sale Day Update](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg&t=0s)
* [00:10:28 – RIP VARTA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg&t=628s)
* [00:15:51 – Arcade1Up Still Exists!?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg&t=951s)
* [00:23:44 – You'll Need To Buy A New Minecraft PC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg&t=1424s)
* [00:31:50 – New S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Expansion: Cost of Hope](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg&t=1910s)
* [00:40:57 – Not Reese's Pieces](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg&t=2457s)
* [00:54:34 – Videos Of The Week](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg&t=3274s)
* [01:03:22 – Gremlin Graphics' Triumphant Return](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1up2QsVXg&t=3802s)

## Original Video Links
Episode Links:
Hack Build Restore: [https://www.youtube.com/@hackbuildrestore](https://www.youtube.com/@hackbuildrestore)
Website For The Above: [https://hackbuildrestore.com](https://hackbuildrestore.com)
VARTA Is Dead!?: [https://www.reuters.com/business/german-battery-maker-varta-files-insolvency-applications-2026-07-24](https://www.reuters.com/business/german-battery-maker-varta-files-insolvency-applications-2026-07-24)
Arcade1Up Isn't Dead!?: [https://gizmodo.com/the-dream-of-home-arcades-isnt-dead-and-neither-is-arcade1up-2000723657](https://gizmodo.com/the-dream-of-home-arcades-isnt-dead-and-neither-is-arcade1up-2000723657)
Arcade1Up OutRun: [https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/07/this-out-run-arcade-cabinet-features-five-games-and-costs-usd629-99](https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/07/this-out-run-arcade-cabinet-features-five-games-and-costs-usd629-99)
Arcade1Up Street Fighter: [https://arcade1up.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/street-fighter-ii-supreme-arcade-machine](https://arcade1up.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/street-fighter-ii-supreme-arcade-machine)
Arcade1Up Ms. PAC-MAN: [https://arcade1up.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/ms-pac-man-pub-table-arcade-machine](https://arcade1up.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/ms-pac-man-pub-table-arcade-machine)
Arcade1Up Sonic: [https://retrododo.com/arcade1up-set-to-release-two-sonic-arcade-cabinets-later-this-year](https://retrododo.com/arcade1up-set-to-release-two-sonic-arcade-cabinets-later-this-year)
Minecraft System Requirements: [https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/pc-gaming/minecraft-system-requirements-raised-for-the-first-time-in-17-years-microsoft-now-recommends-16gb-of-ram-and-a-2020s-or-newer-cpu-to-run-the-java-edition](https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/pc-gaming/minecraft-system-requirements-raised-for-the-first-time-in-17-years-microsoft-now-recommends-16gb-of-ram-and-a-2020s-or-newer-cpu-to-run-the-java-edition)
ClassiCube: [https://www.classicube.net](https://www.classicube.net)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope: [https://www.techtimes.com/articles/321686/20260727/stalker-2-cost-hope-launches-august-20-alongside-free-unreal-engine-upgrade.htm](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/321686/20260727/stalker-2-cost-hope-launches-august-20-alongside-free-unreal-engine-upgrade.htm)
PSN Outage: [https://www.ign.com/articles/sonys-nightmare-month-gets-worse-as-playstation-network-goes-down-leaving-fans-unable-to-play-digital-games-just-weeks-after-killing-disc-controversy-erupted](https://www.ign.com/articles/sonys-nightmare-month-gets-worse-as-playstation-network-goes-down-leaving-fans-unable-to-play-digital-games-just-weeks-after-killing-disc-controversy-erupted)
HP Keyboard PC: [https://www.gadgetguy.com.au/hp-eliteboard-g1a-australia-launch](https://www.gadgetguy.com.au/hp-eliteboard-g1a-australia-launch)
Rare Mario / Duck Hunt Cartridge: [https://www.ign.com/articles/how-97-copies-of-an-unreleased-version-of-super-mario-bros-duck-hunt-were-discovered-in-a-wisconsin-warehouse](https://www.ign.com/articles/how-97-copies-of-an-unreleased-version-of-super-mario-bros-duck-hunt-were-discovered-in-a-wisconsin-warehouse)
Famicombox: [https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-famicombox-found-japanese-love-hotel](https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-famicombox-found-japanese-love-hotel)
C64 DOOM: [https://www.reddit.com/r/c64/comments/1v8zk85/doom_for_c64_by_steve_mccrea](https://www.reddit.com/r/c64/comments/1v8zk85/doom_for_c64_by_steve_mccrea)
Regex DOOM: [https://www.tomshardware.com/software/programming/daring-coder-gets-doom-running-with-regular-expressions-at-180-seconds-per-frame-like-playing-correspondence-chess-with-a-shotgun-nearly-14-million-substitutions-to-render-a-frame-at-80-000-substitutions-per-second](https://www.tomshardware.com/software/programming/daring-coder-gets-doom-running-with-regular-expressions-at-180-seconds-per-frame-like-playing-correspondence-chess-with-a-shotgun-nearly-14-million-substitutions-to-render-a-frame-at-80-000-substitutions-per-second)
Shinobi For A500: [https://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=123358](https://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=123358)
Thimbleweed Park 2 Announcement: [https://www.grumpygamer.com/twp2_announce](https://www.grumpygamer.com/twp2_announce)
Gremlin Graphics Classics: [https://gremlingraphics.co.uk](https://gremlingraphics.co.uk)
Video Of The Week 1 (Semi-Ramblomatic Duke vs. Quake): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEDP7tp4z28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEDP7tp4z28)
Video Of The Week 2 (Explaining Computers Bazzite): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcAtLr1u86o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcAtLr1u86o)
Video Of The Week 3 (Sayaka Bil Herd Interview): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3jbIH6wuWc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3jbIH6wuWc)
Video Of The Week 4 (Ancient Miniature Mechanical TV): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41b8fw3_wP8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41b8fw3_wP8)