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Rage 2 is also playable on this ‘Dreamcast’

The console years ahead of its time has had it guts removed with a melon baller

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Charlie Hall is Polygon’s tabletop editor. In 10-plus years as a journalist & photographer, he has covered simulation, strategy, and spacefaring games, as well as public policy.

Bethesda Softworks sparked some confusion today when it announced it was giving away a custom-built Dreamcast that plays Rage 2. How could a console from 1999 play the 2019 Rage sequel? After reading the fine print, and checking in with the developers, Polygon has confirmed that it’s a custom PC wedged inside a Dreamcast-shaped shell.

Still, in a day marked by other seemingly Mad Libs-style retro gaming headlines, it’s a fun promotion.

Official rules for the contest state that the winner receives a custom PC valued at $590. Bethesda tells Polygon that there’s no actual Dreamcast bits to speak of, aside from the shell itself. They’re checking with the modders who built it, but from the images released on social media it looks like the black variant of the console sold as the Sports Edition. You can still find them on eBay for under $200.

To participate, fans need to follow and retweet the Rage Twitter account. The winner will be announced on May 6.

News of Rage 2 leaked out early last summer, well before the actual reveal at E3 2018. Since then we’ve seen quite a bit of early gameplay and even had hands-on time with the game. The wild, post-apocalyptic first-person shooter is set to launch on May 14. The game is coming to PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One. And that Dreamcast.