Blaze Entertainment has announced a significant delay for both TheC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld. Originally scheduled to launch on October 15, 2026, both systems will now arrive on April 22, 2027, with the delay affecting both the standard and collector’s editions.
According to Blaze, issues were identified during production where the construction of the handhelds did not meet the company’s standards. While some of these issues could apparently have been addressed in time to still launch the systems this year, the company has instead opted for a delay of just over six months.
“While we could address some issues quickly and release the products in 2026, we believe taking this additional time is the right decision to give you the best experience possible,” Blaze explained in its announcement.
Another retro system slips into 2027
The announcement adds another hardware delay to what has already been a rather unfortunate year for upcoming retro systems.
As previously covered on Retrolike.net, PLAION REPLAI recently pushed the NEOGEO AES+ from November 2026 to September 16, 2027, in that case citing global component supply constraints. TheC64 and The Spectrum Handhelds now join the growing list of retro hardware originally planned for 2026 that will not make it to market until next year.
It is another lengthy delay, but at least Blaze is being fairly clear about why it has made the decision rather than pushing ahead with hardware it already knows does not meet its intended standards.
Evercade Nexus remains on schedule
Interestingly, one piece of upcoming Blaze hardware has escaped the delay. The company specifically confirmed that the Evercade Nexus is unaffected and remains scheduled for release on October 30, 2026.
That also suggests the handheld delay is specific to TheC64 and The Spectrum Handhelds rather than a wider issue affecting Blaze’s complete upcoming hardware line-up.
Both handhelds, including their collector’s editions, are now scheduled to launch on April 22, 2027.
