Space Invaders cover art

Space Invaders series

Space Invaders

Space Invaders is a game in which the player controls a laser cannon by moving it horizontally across the bottom of the screen and firing at descending aliens. The aim is to defeat five rows of eleven…

10 March 1980

Space Invaders is a shooter developed by Taito, released 10 March 1980 on Atari 2600.

Verified Sources: IGDB , Wikipedia

What Space Invaders is

Space Invaders is a shooter game developed by Taito and released in 1980. It was published by Atari. It is available on Atari 2600 only.

The premise, in the publisher's words

Space Invaders is a game in which the player controls a laser cannon by moving it horizontally across the bottom of the screen and firing at descending aliens. The aim is to defeat five rows of eleven aliens—some versions feature different numbers—that move horizontally back and forth across the screen as they advance towards the bottom of the screen. The player defeats an alien, and earns points, by shooting it with the laser cannon. As more aliens are defeated, the aliens' movement and the game's music both speed up.
Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a bird view / isometric perspective. Its themes are science fiction. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component.

Where it sits in the Space Invaders series

Space Invaders is the second of 50 entries we hold in the Space Invaders series. It arrived 2 years after Space Invaders. The next entry was Space Invaders in 1981.

See all 50 Space Invaders games in release order →

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Quick answers

Space Invaders — frequently asked questions

When did Space Invaders come out?
Space Invaders was released on 10 March 1980 for Atari 2600.

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