Checked 2026-10-30
The Halloween Man on Commodore 64: release facts
THE HALLOWEEN MAN (Commodore 64 Edition) is a free maze game by ready64. The itch page gives 28 October 2026 at 08:44 UTC as its publication timestamp. It targets a PAL Commodore 64, ships as three file formats, and includes a public source zip.
If you want the files, use the download page. It links to itch and does not mirror the game. How the mazes play is on How to play.
Fact table
Checked 30 October 2026. Where two catalogues disagree, both rows stay.
| Field | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Name | THE HALLOWEEN MAN (Commodore 64 Edition), from the developer readme (single source) |
| Author | ready64, self-published on itch.io |
| Itch date | 28 October 2026 at 08:44 UTC, from the itch Published timestamp. PDRoms added its report on 29 October. |
| Scene copy | CSDb release 265327 is titled The Halloween Man + by AIliens, type C64 Crack, dated 28 October 2026. It is a separate catalogue record, not evidence of a different official launch day. |
| Machine | PAL Commodore 64. Tags include c77 and commodore-77. |
| Price | Free. The itch minimum price is 0. |
| Play | Maze clear in the Pac-Man family. The itch genre field reads Sports / Simulation. |
| Files | .prg 22,542 bytes, .d64 about 170 kB, .tap about 922 kB, readme 4,910 bytes, source zip 35,364 bytes |
| Code (developer readme, single source) | 6502 assembler (ca65/ld65), 33 multicolour sprites, 3-channel SID, custom character set, load address $0801, SYS 2061 |
| Copyright line | (c) 2026 READY 64. The readme does not grant a redistribution licence. |
Why the page says 77
Commodore announced the Commodore 77 on 25 August 2026 as a Cyberpunk 2077 collaboration built on a Commodore 64 FPGA design, with a top clock of 77 MHz and shipping aimed at early 2027. ready64 tagged the itch page c77 and commodore-77. The tag suggests intended compatibility; it is not a separate hardware test. Commodore is the single source for its own shipping schedule and specifications. No independent compatibility report for this particular game was found.
Three files, one game
The .prg is a program image with a load address. This one is $0801, started with SYS 2061. The .d64 is a 1541 disk image; a typical single-sided disk is 35 tracks and 174,848 bytes. The .tap is a tape pulse image whose header reads C64-TAPE-RAW. They are three ways to load the same game, not three editions. The game file sizes are a single-source record from itch, not independently measured by another publisher. The generic image-format descriptions follow C64-Wiki.
What catalogues say about AI
PDRoms writes that the developer mentions AI and that artificial intelligence was used in making the game. CSDb marks the cracked copy “Contains AI generated content”. I searched the itch page text and the readme on 30 October 2026 and did not find an AI sentence in either. I am leaving both statements on the page. I am not deciding which one is the last word.
A first look at whether the game is worth the time is on the review. Running it on a PC or Mac is on the emulator page.
Questions
Who made the Commodore 64 game?
The itch page, the readme and the PDRoms listing all name ready64. No separate publisher is listed.
What does the c77 tag mean?
It points at the Commodore 77, an FPGA machine announced on 25 August 2026 and scheduled to ship in early 2027. The tag is a compatibility claim, not a test I can confirm.