Commodore Announces C64C Ultimate With Rediscovered Original 1986 Injection Molds

Commodore has announced the C64C Ultimate, a new variant of its well-received Commodore 64 Ultimate edition from 2025 that swaps the original 1982 “bread-bin” case for the sleeker C64C form factor introduced in 1986. The standout detail here is the case manufacturing. Commodore tracked down and reacquired the original injection molds used to produce the C64C plastic housing back in the ’80s. The tooling has had quite a journey. Originally used in Japan, then at Commodore’s Pennsylvania and Dallas operations, the molds were discovered at auction in 2014, survived a factory fire, and eventually ended up at Individual Computers before Commodore bought them back from IComp.de. The cases produced from these molds even carry the original subtle flow marks caused by a two-point plastic cooling pattern from the 1986 production run, an unintentional quirk that Commodore is now treating as a mark of authenticity.

Under the hood, the C64C Ultimate is identical to the existing “bread-bin” model, FPGA-based, cycle-accurate C64 emulation, bundled demos and games, and a spiral-bound user guide covering everything from basic use to BASIC programming. Three editions are available for pre-order with shipping expected in late 2026. The standard BASIC Beige is $299.99, the Starlight Edition adds a translucent case with game-reactive LED lighting at $349.99, and the Founder’s Edition goes all out with PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) gold keycaps, 24k gold-plated badges, and a translucent white case at $499.99. Commodore says that this announcement is the first of several new products planned for 2026.