25 Years Later, Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire Officially Returns
Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is an absolute Disney cult favorite, hailed among early 2000s kids as one of the greatest animated films of the decade. Unfortunately, Atlantis: The Lost Empire's underwhelming box office performance during its initial release may have doomed the franchise, and despite fans remembering it fondly in hindsight, it's never seen a proper reboot, sequel, or remake.
In 2025, there was famously a brief glimmer of hope for Atlantis fans, with a remarkably polished live-action concept trailer making the rounds online. Created by filmmaker Jonathan Muñoz, the fan-made trailer imagined what a modern live-action adaptation of Atlantis: The Lost Empire could look like, complete with realistic takes on Milo, Kida, the Ulysses, and the lost city itself. Its convincing production value led some viewers to mistake it for an official Disney project, but despite the excitement it generated, the trailer was purely a fan concept and was not connected to any remake in development at Disney.
25 years after its release, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is making an official return today, August 18, 2026, and while it may not be the official Disney remake or live-action adaptation we've been praying for, it will be free for many fans starting now (via True Trophies).
Atlantis: The Lost Empire Is Back With Free 25th Anniversary Release
Atlantis: The Lost Empire's official PlayStation 1 classic video game has been given new life via PlayStation Plus, available to play now for free for Premium subscribers. The game will feature a full trophy lineup for PS4 and PS5, and is the perfect way to celebrate 25 years since the cult-favorite movie released.
Launched for the original PlayStation in 2001, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 3D action-adventure platformer based on Disney’s animated film of the same name. Developed by Eurocom, the game loosely follows the movie’s story, sending Milo Thatch and the expedition crew on a dangerous journey to discover the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Players control several members of the expedition, with different characters offering abilities suited to particular challenges.
PS Plus Gamers Can Revisit Atlantis For Free Today
Gameplay mixes platforming, exploration, puzzle-solving and combat across environments inspired by locations from the film, while collectible Atlantean symbols unlock additional content. Although it arrived as one of several tie-in games accompanying the movie, the PlayStation version has remained a nostalgic curiosity for fans of Disney’s early-2000s era.
More than two decades later, Sony is bringing the PS1 title to modern consoles through PlayStation Plus Premium starting today, August 18, 2026, giving PS4 and PS5 players another opportunity to explore Atlantis: The Lost Empire while they continue hoping for an official reboot announcement from Disney.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.