Is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on Steam?

No. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.

What platforms is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on?

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is available on Atari 2600.

When did E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial release?

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was first released on December 1, 1982.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Dec 1, 1982StrategyAdventureAtari 2600

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial — frequently asked questions

Is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on Steam?: No. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
What platforms is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on?: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is available on Atari 2600.
When did E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial release?: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was first released on December 1, 1982.

About E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (also referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 adventure video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 video game console. It is based on the film of the same name, and was designed by Howard Scott Warshaw. The objective of the game is to guide the eponymous character through various screens to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone that will allow him to contact his home planet. It is widely regarded as the worst game ever made and one of the major contributing factors to the near death of the video game industry in 1983.

Summary via IGDB.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on Wikipedia

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 adventure video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600, based on the film of the same name. The game's objective is to guide the eponymous character through various screens to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone that will allow him to contact his home planet.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).

Game details

Platforms: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Science fiction

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

48/100

from 44 ratings

Collector value & authenticity

Atari 2600 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-06

Loose

Complete

$35

Sealed

$50

Release record

Territory	Label	Catalog #	Rarity
North America Atari	Silver	CX2674	Common
Asia Atari	—	—	—

Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 2600 software database

Region: NA+EU
Released: 1982
Controller: Atari Joystick
Players: 1
Authenticity: Low

Not in Atari 50 — other compilations and plug-and-plays are not tracked hereLow counterfeit risk

Atari 2600 prices, all games & how to spot a fake

The most infamous cartridge in video game history, rushed to market, buried in a landfill and still easy to find.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 adventure game based on the film, developed and published by Atari for the 2600. You guide E.T. through a series of screens to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone so he can call home. Howard Scott Warshaw designed it, but rights negotiations ended in late July 1982, leaving him just over five weeks to finish it for the Christmas season.

Atari expected huge sales on the strength of the film. Instead, the game was poorly reviewed, and millions of the roughly four million cartridges produced went unsold. It is often cited among the worst games ever made, one of the biggest commercial failures in the industry and a contributing factor in the 1983 crash.

How it was made

Designed and programmed by Howard Scott Warshaw, with art by Warshaw and Jerome Domurat. He was commissioned on 27 July 1982 with a 1 September deadline. Released in December 1982, with a PAL release the same quarter.

What the press said at the time

Computer Entertainer Vol. 1 No. 9	December 1982	Graphics ★★★ · Play-Action ★★★
Electronic Fun with Computers & Games Vol. 1 No. 3	January 1983	2½ joysticks
Arcade Express Vol. 1 No. 10	December 19, 1982	6/10

“After splurging a reported 10 million dollars to get the property and Steven Spielberg's cooperation, this game looks like it was turned out in about five weeks. … Atari's attempt to capitalize on its name value is an insult to arcaders. Save your time and money.”
— Electronic Games, April 1983

“graphically, Atari has rarely done anything better. The "credits" screen that appears before the game actually begins features a mosaic-like portrait of ET that, given the limitations of the VCS, is stunning.”
— Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, January 1983

“This is not nearly as involved as adventure games such as RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK or SWORDQUEST EARTHWORLD, but it's an enjoyable quest nonetheless.”
— Computer Entertainer, December 1982

“Worse, though, is an idiosyncrasy in the program which makes it difficult to levitate ET from a well without immediately having him fall back in—over, and over sometimes. This is maddening. … However, graphically, Atari has rarely done anything better. … Young players won't be let down by this adaptation.”
— Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, January 1983

Computer Entertainer rated graphics first and play action second, from four symbols (excellent) to one (poor) — stars in most years, diamonds in 1986–87 — comparing each game only with other games for the same system. Electronic Fun rated games out of four joysticks.

Cartridge & preservation record

Program size 8 KB, measured from the preserved dump.

Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.

Worth knowing

The landfill. In September 1983 Atari buried truckloads of surplus stock, E.T. among many other titles and hardware, in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Long treated as an urban legend, it was confirmed by a dig on 26 April 2014 that recovered about 1,300 cartridges.
Top 10 with readers. Despite the panning, Electronic Games readers ranked E.T. #10 among the "Most Popular Videogame Cartridges" in the April 1983 poll.
A "spectacular disaster". By November 1984 Electronic Games was calling it a flop: "After such spectacular disasters as its game versions of E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark, one might think Atari would shy away from licensing games from the silver screen."
Recommended at $39.95. The Video Game Update's December 1982 review recommended it: "The presence of a simple game variation makes it suitable even for small children. Recommended (retail $39.95)".
"Just 16 weeks". Atari's own club magazine said at the time that E.T. set a record: "The record so far is just 16 weeks for E.T." The game "was programmed in an incredible 6 weeks", and "Manufacturing, which is going on right now, will take another 10 weeks", so it could reach stores by Christmas 1982. A normal cartridge, it said, took "between 9 months and a year".

Before you buy

Low risk; Atari produced roughly four million of these, so it is easy to find and not a reproduction target. Copies are plentiful and inexpensive, so there is no reason to pay a premium for an ordinary loose cart.