TBPN · 2 min · Feb 20, 2026

ModRetro is stockpiling the M64 before launch

Palmer Luckey · Founder, Anduril

After the Chromatic sold out, ModRetro chose to wait before launching the M64 and is stockpiling tens of thousands.

In this episode

0:45 Erebor is built for deep tech and always-on dollar settlement3 min
7:20 A bank charter keeps key decisions under the company’s control2 min
19:04 Vision Pro brought future display economics into the present3 min
3:32 Erebor wants to prevent fraud through early agency cooperation2 min
10:47ModRetro is stockpiling the M64 before launch2 min
16:41 Vibe coding lets hardware founders focus on their strengths2 min

“And so what we wanna do is not let down our developer partners this time and make sure that we maintain stock.”

Palmer Luckeyat 12:41 · TBPN

Takeaways

ModRetro plans to build enough stock before launching.
A sellout can leave customers with a dead-end call to action.
Availability matters to developers promoting games for the console.

About this segment

After the Chromatic sold out, ModRetro chose to wait before launching the M64 and is stockpiling tens of thousands. Keeping consoles available also helps partner developers convert their marketing into sales.

Palmer Luckey is founder of Oculus and ModRetro, launching Erebor.

Co-founded Anduril, which builds autonomous defense systems, and designed the Oculus Rift that revived VR.

John Coogan, Host · Co-host, TBPN
Co-founded Soylent and Lucy; OpenAI bought his show TBPN in April 2026.
Jordi Hays, Host · Co-host, TBPN
Founded Branded Native; co-founded fintech Capital, which Rho bought.

From “Palmer Luckey: Why I Started My Own Bank”, Feb 20, 2026. Watch the full episode

Transcript

From the transcript TBPN publishes with the episode.

10:49
Yeah. Last time you came on, we talked a lot about ModRetro. I'd love an update on the m 64. What makes that product special? Where did you go further with this project than with the chromatic? And just general, like, you're thinking about the m 64?
11:04
Well, so for people who aren't familiar with it, the m 64 is a tribute to the Nintendo 64 that I'm building, one of the greatest multiplayer consoles of all time. We're building a console that is compatible with all classic n 64 games. We're re releasing a lot of classic n 64 games so that you can buy them if you don't already have them. We're actually doing new releases of canceled n 64 games that never even made it to market either because they were canceled and ported to GameCube or because they ran out of money or because the studios imploded for interpersonality reasons. It's there's a lot of cool stuff coming out.
11:37
The m 64, guess, main update is that it's in mass production right now. It is it is not eventually coming. It is in mass production right now. We've decided we're not gonna launch it until we build up sufficient stock to meet the demand. One of the mistakes I think we made with the mod retro chromatic, which was a tribute to the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, was that we started selling them and then all of sudden we sold out.
11:59
And then you have people who hear about it, they read about it, their friends are all talking about it, they go to try to buy one and they can't buy one because it's sold out. And there's a question, will they remember to come back and buy it some other time? Will they still feel like going and immediately buying it? Yeah. Exactly. And so we we you kind of end up with this with this dead end call to action. And so we've decided this time and and by the way, this is especially bad for the game publishers that we're working with. Let's say that it's someone who's re releasing a game or somebody who's doing a brand new game, some of the indie developers we're we're working with on the Chromatic. They're out there promoting their game. They're trying to market their game.
12:30
They're doing a whole marketing activation, trying to convince people, hey, come and buy my new Game Boy game. Come and buy my new Nintendo 64 game. Well, what happens if you can't buy the console? A lot of people are like, oh, I'll come back later and buy it, and then they don't. And so what we wanna do is not let down our developer partners this time and make sure that we maintain stock. So the goal is that the m 64, no matter how many people hit our website, is not going to sell out. And so we are mass producing. We're stockpiling, I think, tens of thousands of them so far. More and more to come.
13:01
What is the what is the supply soon. What's the supply chain actually like right now? We've covered the the gamer rebellion against Medical. Against AI Yeah. Memory.