What platforms is F-18 Hornet on?

F-18 Hornet was released on Atari 7800, Commodore C64/128/MAX.

When did F-18 Hornet release?

F-18 Hornet was first released on December 31, 1988.

F-18 Hornet

Dec 31, 1988SimulatorAtari 7800Commodore C64/128/MAX

F-18 Hornet — frequently asked questions

What platforms is F-18 Hornet on?: F-18 Hornet was released on Atari 7800, Commodore C64/128/MAX.
When did F-18 Hornet release?: F-18 Hornet was first released on December 31, 1988.

About F-18 Hornet

Attention all Naval Aviators! Report to your squadron leaders and prepare for deployment. Your tour of duty will take you around the world on some of the most challenging and dangerous missions of your career. F-18 Hornet is a carrier based adventure. Fast, solid 3-D graphics and responsive instrumentation make for an incredible sensation of flight. Fly missions through a variety of terrain executing aerial combat, emergency supply drops, strafing and bombing runs while battling hostile jets, helicopters and tanks. F-18 Hornet features all of the action of carrier based jets including thrilling aircraft carrier take-offs and landings in smooth 3-D animation.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Atari 7800, Commodore C64/128/MAX
Developer: Absolute Entertainment
Publisher: Absolute Entertainment
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Warfare

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Built by	Fake risk
Atari 7800	1988	$18	$55	—	Absolute Entertainment	Low (look-alike)

Release timeline

Atari 78001988
Commodore C64/128/MAX1988

First release on each platform, from IGDB’s records of this game’s ports and editions. Remakes are separate games with their own pages, so they are not listed here.

We haven’t priced or authenticated the versions without a section on this page yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Atari 7800 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-19

Loose

$18

Complete

$55

Sealed

—

How often it sells

Loose: about 2 times a month
Complete: about 6 times a year
Sealed: about once a year

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-19.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $15.03 in Jan 2011, $14.11 five years ago, and $17.50 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2011	$15.03	—
Jan 2012	$8.95	—
Jan 2013	$10.00	—
Jan 2014	$5.00	$23
Jan 2015	$13.50	$42
Jan 2016	$9.95	$25
Jan 2017	$8.50	$6.77
Jan 2018	$12.53	$44
Jan 2019	$12.63	$56
Jan 2020	$15.11	$48
Jan 2021	$15.52	$62
Jan 2022	$19.00	$46
Jan 2023	$14.00	$60
Jan 2024	$18.96	$70
Jan 2025	$21	$64
Jan 2026	$11.20	$59
Oct 2026	$17.50	$55

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Label	Catalog #	Rarity
North America Absolute Entertainment	Standard	AP-044	Scarce+

Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 7800 software database

Region: NA+EU
Released: 1988
Controller: Pro-Line Joystick
Players: 1
Authenticity: Low

Not in Atari 50 — other compilations and reissues are not tracked hereLow look-alike risk

Atari 7800 prices, all games & how to spot a fake

One of the 7800's first third-party games: a carrier-launch flight sim that is cheap loose and expensive boxed.

Absolute Entertainment published F-18 Hornet, with Imagineering as developer and John Van Ryzin credited as programmer. Computer Entertainer's report on the June 1988 Consumer Electronics Show called Absolute the first third-party developer for the 7800 and described the game as a realistic flight simulator, an aircraft-carrier, fighter-jet game with three-dimensional flight graphics.

It plays solo with the Pro-Line two-button stick. It is a flight sim rather than an arcade conversion, which made it an unusual cartridge for a console whose library was mostly arcade ports.

How it was made

Imagineering developed it and Absolute Entertainment published it; AtariAge credits John Van Ryzin as programmer.

Also on other platforms

Commodore 64

Atari 7800

Absolute Entertainment

Commodore 64. The Commodore 64 version is a fighter-jet simulation with carrier takeoffs and landings and missions such as training, aerial assault, supply drops and bombing.

Before you buy

Low risk of fakes but a real box premium. AtariAge rates the standard-label cartridge Scarce+, and the loose cart is one of the cheaper third-party titles, but complete copies run to several times the loose price, so the box and manual carry most of the value. Absolute's serial pattern is AP-044 for this title, and a label with a different serial deserves a second look. A PAL release exists, and the cartridge has no CX catalogue number.