Aquaventure has never been mentioned in any Atari press release, nor does it appear on any internal component list.
Programmer Gary Shannon said it was complete and ready for release: “I remember quite clearly finishing coding and testing the game and moving on to a new project.
The last official statement was that it will be released. I was paid a 'completion bonus' from future royalties."
Created in a time dominated by space-themed games, Aquaventure's colorful and challenging underwater gameplay was a breath of fresh air. The game has not been released on cartridge yet!
Aquaventure may have been caught in the "game freeze" imposed by new Atari CEO Jim Morgan in September 1983.
Morgan froze all game development and releases until he could review them and decide which were strong enough for release.
Aquaventure may not have passed selection. The words LOONEY and HOT can be found in the middle of the code.
