While most developers are dodging November to avoid GTA 6’s splash zone, Atari is going for Rockstar’s jugular with a retro Barbie collection.
GTA 6’s arrival on November 19 has created a pile-up on the gaming release calendar, with titles like Marvel’s Wolverine, Control Resonant, Silent Hill: Townfall, Valor Mortis, and Onimusha: Way Of The Sword all out within just days of each other in September.
The pile-up continues throughout October, with the likes of Gears Of War: E-Day, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, Phantom Blade 0, and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 all coming at almost exactly the same time.
However, some brave souls are not phased by one of the most anticipated sequels of all time. In fact, they’re owning the splash zone with a super model strut, a cute ski jacket, and some horsin’ around.
Atari has announced Barbie Rewind, a retro compilation of 16 Barbie titles wrapped in a new DreamHouse game, will launch November 12 across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
The game sees you unlock furniture, decor, and other accessories for your DreamHouse by earning achievements in classic titles from the 1990s and 2000s. As shown in the trailer, these retro games include Barbie Pet Rescue, Barbie Horse Adventures: Blue Ribbon Race, Barbie: Race & Ride, Barbie: Super Model, Barbie Super Sports, among others.
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One of these included retro games, Barbie: Vacation Adventure for the Mega Drive and SNES, has never been officially released – so it’s basically the Barbie equivalent of Star Fox 2.
Surprisingly, Barbie Fashion Designer does not appear to be part of the compilation, despite it being a historically important title in terms of games aimed at young girls and part of the Video Game Hall Of Fame.
Its absence is probably because it was originally PC-only and barely a game in the traditional sense. Although the current list of included titles is not necessarily complete, so it may be included as a reference at least.
Barbie Rewind is developed by Digital Eclipse, who have released other retro collections for Mortal Kombat, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Atari over recent years. Just recently, they also announced a Toy Story compilation, which launches on October 15, 2026.
With GTA 6 set to arrive on November 19, this means there’s a mere week between Barbie Rewind and Rockstar’s sequel. Some might cry lunacy, but it’s perhaps a smart marketing move to launch something within the same timeframe which appeals to a very different audience – even if just for the attention-grabbing whiplash factor.
This isn’t the only game in the firing line of GTA 6. At the moment, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered (also published by Atari) is set to come out on November 3, action roguelike Crymelight is set for November 5, while Gothic 3 Classic is set to drop on November 24.
Devolver Digital, meanwhile, has repeatedly said it plans to launch a mystery game on November 19 itself, although it’s never said what it is.
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