The Legend of SwordQuest

Apr 10 2025 13 ep. 36 mins 747
The Legend of SwordQuest Podcast artwork

What started as a promotion for a new Atari game would become one of the most controversial moments in ‘80s pop culture, with a central mystery that’s consumed fans for decades: what happened to the missing SwordQuest prizes?

To unlock the biggest mystery in video game history, host Jamie Loftus is going on a treasure hunt 40 years in the making.

  Society & Culture  Leisure
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Bonus Episode: The Landfill

Nov 14 2024 26 mins  
A waste management specialist unearths thousands of Atari games buried in a New Mexico landfill. As gaming historians rejoice, he plots to turn Atari’s unwanted trash into cash.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8: Endgame

Oct 31 2024 42 mins  
After decades of speculation, a mysterious source emerges that may solve the mystery of the missing SwordQuest treasures once and for all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7: The Swordsman

Oct 24 2024 35 mins  
The trail to find the missing SwordQuest treasures leads back to one of the most controversial figures in Atari history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6: Plunder

Oct 17 2024 37 mins  
An unreleased SwordQuest game suddenly surfaces online; the fate of the missing prizes undergoes fresh scrutiny by gaming historians.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5: Stay Gold

Oct 10 2024 41 mins  
Years after SwordQuest came to an abrupt and disappointing end, a gamer makes a surprising discovery in a Brooklyn thrift shop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4: Descent Into Darkness

Oct 03 2024 39 mins  
Atari’s financial problems force the company to issue an ultimatum to SwordQuest players—one that may involve a top-secret gaming tournament closed to the public.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3: The Chalice

Sep 26 2024 35 mins  
SwordQuest players discover that being video game rock stars comes at a price. Meanwhile, delays in the contest raise suspicions among contestants that Atari may not intend to see it through to the end—and that the prizes may not even exist at all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.