Heritage Auctions hammered down the gavel on June 12, 2026, selling lot 28003—a pristine copy of the 1983 Atari 2600 game Red Sea Crossing—for $6,562.50. The prize included the cartridge and the original explanatory audiocassette, a combination that has never before appeared at auction. The sale concluded after 36 bids, with a 25% buyer’s premium applied to the final price.
The game, created by programmer Steve Schustack and published by Inspirational Video Concepts, is a cult curiosity. Released in 1983, it never touched retail shelves. Its only known marketing was a single advertisement in the October 7, 1983, issue of Christianity Today. That ad sold the game by mail order, accompanied by a colouring book and a cassette narrated by Dale Evans Rogers. This limited distribution made the cartridge a ghost story for collectors for decades.
The title’s survival is a miracle of rediscovery. A collector found a copy at a Cincinnati garage sale in 2007, sparking a community-wide investigation into its origins. By 2011, the surviving Christianity Today ad proved the game was genuine. Previous auctions in 2012 saw copies sell for over $10,400, but those were loose cartridges. This Heritage lot is distinct because it preserves the original audio experience, a piece of history that was previously considered lost to time.
The gameplay itself is a digital retelling of the Exodus. Players guide Moses between walls of water, dodging seaweed, giant clams, and the Egyptian army. A fish acts as a time limit, chasing the protagonist across the screen. It is a simple mechanic, but for Atari historians, the artifact is worth more than the code. The next major verification will come from the buyer, who now holds the most complete known package of this elusive title in the market.