Plex will be the featured, pre-installed video streaming app when the new retro-themed Atari VCS video game console hits store shelves later this year. 

Plex combines free, ad-supported streaming from major content brands (Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Crackle, Lionsgate, MGM, and more) with a popular media server solution that lets users access their own stored digital entertainment assets. A live/linear guide has recently been added, as has a virtual DVR.

Also read: Plex: Everything You Need to Know About the Geek Streaming Platform Flexing for Mainstream Attention

Plex hasn’t disclosed how many users it has at this point, but it will have primacy on the upcoming Atari VCS gaming console.

After myriad corporate mergers, sales and rebranding over the last 40 years, the Atari brand is now controlled by France’s Atari SA, which is traded on the Paris Stock Exchange. 

The company is targeting a November release for the Atari VCS, a box that combines modern gaming console and PC hardware (notably an AMD Ryzen 1606G processor Zen-core and Radeon Vega graphics) with retro design that nostalgically harkens back to the groundbreaking Atari 2600 console that was released way back in 1977. 

Atari SA is targeting a November release date for its console, with a base MSRP of $299. (Paying $399 will bundle two game controllers, one of them a joystick similar to what was used for the 2600.)

"We set out from the start to make the Atari VCS a home entertainment gateway by offering the versatility of a fully-featured mini-multimedia-PC, with a focus on classic and new games, and extensive streaming capabilities," said said Michael Arzt, COO of Atari VCS & Connected Devices. "Plex is the clear market leader when it comes to easily hosting and accessing a diversity of content from movies, to TV to Tidal music and more, which makes them an exciting partner for the Atari VCS at launch and beyond."

A few more details about the Atari VCS, an internet-connected, 4K-capable gaming and video streaming device inspired by the vintage Atari 2600 console emerged on Monday.

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Ahead of shipping, pre-sales on the Atari VCS are to start on May 30 exclusively via Indiegogo. Pricing during this period starts at $199 and includes access to a “Collector’s Edition” with a faux-wood front, or an option to buy a more modern “Onyx” model with an all-black finish. Atari hasn’t announced final pricing, but has said that the new product would sell for at least $249.

The new lineup for the Atari VCS will also feature packages with a Classic Joystick that looks like it came from the Atari 2600 era, as well as a more modern-looking controller that one would find on today’s gaming consoles.

But those who are willing to shell out the cash in the pre-sales period will bide their time, as initial shipments of the Atari VCS aren’t expected to start until spring 2019.

That product shipment is still that far away is a huge surprise. During a show-and-tell in March, PCWorld noted that what was on show was less than a functioning prototype, and conceptual at best.

Though products won’t reach the hands of consumers for months, there’s some sizable technical detail about what’s going inside the Linux-based Atari VCS, including a customer processor from AMD, support for 4K resolution, High Dynamic Range, and up to 60 frames per second, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0 and USB 3.0.

The device will also have access to a library of more than 100 “classic” games such as Asteroids, Centipede, Breakout, Missile Command, Gravitar and Yars’ Revenge, along with promises to deliver streaming video, though the company has yet to outline which OTT services will be integrated out of the chute.

RELATED: Ataribox to Deliver Games, Streaming Apps

We’re still waiting for final pricing and shipping date information, but a new device inspired by the Atari 2600 gaming console from days of yore has a new name – the Atari VCS – and a retro-style logo to go with it.

RELATED: Ataribox to Deliver Games, Streaming Apps

The new and somewhat delayed product, previously referred to as the “Ataribox,” will look a little bit like its ancient predecessor and feature a classic version of the Atari joystick and a more modern one (a prototype of that fancier controller is pictured) that includes an array of buttons and directional sticks akin to those one might find in a controller for a current-gen console.

Atari’s retro box and accessories were shown at the recent Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. PCWorld likened Atari’s preview of its coming Linux-powered device to a “nostalgic mini-PC shrouded in faux wood and mystery,” with reporter Hayden Dingman coming away skeptical as to how real this coming entrant is at this juncture:

“Prototype” is maybe too lofty a term, though. This wasn’t a computer with some rough edges, or hardware in need of a fancy case. The opposite, actually. It was a very fancy-looking case...with nothing in it.

An internal battery appeared to power the front LEDs to give it the appearance it was in-use, but we didn’t actually see what it’s capable of. No user interface, no idea of what games it’ll run. This is still very much conceptual.”

We’ve asked for more specifics on pricing and product shipment plans, but Atari announced last year that the new device would sell for at least $249 and include a classic game catalog (it claims to own and/or manage a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, and Pong) along with access to streaming apps, web browsing and some social media hooks. At the time, Atari said it received more than 90,000 registrations.

“Every person at Atari and every partner involved with the new platform is just as fanatical about the brand and its heritage as our biggest fans are,” Michael Arzt, Atari’s COO of Connected Devices, said in a statement. “With the Atari VCS name, we know how important it is to get everything completely right and that’s why we briefly paused an imminent launch late last year. It was a difficult decision with the countdown underway, but we weren’t willing to go forward with even one thing out of alignment. We hope that Atari’s fans appreciate our extreme attention to detail and are as excited about the Atari VCS as we are.”   

Update: Atari provided a few more details that were shared at the event. Here’s a snapshot:

-The VCS in the product name is an initialism for Video Computer System. The company also confirmed that the prototypes shown were non-playable models.

-Final pricing is not yet announced, but more details on that should emerge when the pre-order data is announced.

-The base Atari VCS will include one classic style joystick/remote, and enhanced bundles that include the more modern controller and possibly other components are under discussion.

-Atari confirmed that the VCS hardware will support 4K, High Dynamic Range, and 60 frames per second, and an AMD x86 processor, likening its expected pefromance to a “higher-end PC laptop.”

-There will be onboard and expandable storage, support for dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 and USB 3.0.

-The device’s Linux-based OS will support a user interface optimized for TV screens, and users will have access to a “sandbox” that enables them to bring some home-made content to the platform.