The Commodore VIC-20 (1980) sold very well in the early 80s, until the Commodore 64 replaced it. The machine was very cheap and had basic hardware: only 5 KB of memory, so many games need a memory expansion.
We have about 660 VIC-20 games on My Abandonware.
VIC-20 emulators
VICE is the emulator you need: free, on Windows, Mac and Linux, and still updated. The other VIC-20 emulators are obsolete or merged into VICE.
VICE (Versatile Commodore Emulator) supports almost all Commodore computers. It's also the emulator we recommend for the Commodore 64: read that page for how to download it. You can still find some old VIC-20 emulators for DOS or Windows online, but they are not maintained.
Running VIC-20 games in VICE
Start xvic, the VIC-20 program of VICE, then drop the game file on its window. The game loads and starts by itself.
- Launch xvic (
xvic.exeon Windows), the VIC-20 emulator inside VICE. - Drag and drop the game file on the window, or use File > Smart attach and pick the file.
- The emulator boots and loads the game automatically. Enjoy your games!
Running VIQ-Bert in VICE.
Memory expansions
A game that shows a blank screen, or stops at the READY prompt, often needs more memory. Add the expansion it needs in VICE's settings, then reset the machine.
The VIC-20 had only 5 KB of memory, and many games came with, or needed, a memory cartridge of 3 KB, 8 KB or 16 KB. The file name or the game instructions usually say which one, with a tag like (8K) or [16K].
In xvic, open the settings, find the machine model part, and choose the memory expansion. Choosing all the memory blocks runs most games; a few old ones only work with no expansion at all. Reset the machine after each change.
Cartridges and tapes
VIC-20 games come as tapes (.tap), disks (.d64), programs (.prg) or cartridges. Most of them start by drag and drop; a cartridge sometimes needs to be attached by hand.
- Tapes, disks and programs start with drag and drop, as above.
- Cartridges often come as one or more
.prgfiles whose names end with their memory address, like-a000.prgor-6000.prg. If drag and drop doesn't start them, attach each file with File > Attach cartridge image, then reset.
I need help!
We do not provide support for running abandonware games. The VIC-20 has a small but very active community.
Ask on Denial, the VIC-20 forum, or in the VIC-20 part of the Lemon64 forums. The VICE documentation explains every setting.
First written by hand, and brought up to date in October 2026 against each program's own documentation and, where it exists, its source code. Game counts and file sizes come from our own catalogue. The update was drafted with the help of an AI assistant and checked by hand before publishing. If something here is out of date, tell us.