When did Gauntlet release?

Gauntlet was first released on October 15, 1985.

Gauntlet

Oct 15, 1985Hack and slash/Beat 'em upArcadeArcadeApple IIGSAtari 8-bitCommodore C64/128/MAXZX Spectrum

Gauntlet — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Gauntlet on?: Gauntlet was released on Arcade, Apple IIGS, Atari 8-bit, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, Mac, DOS, Apple II, Xbox 360, Amstrad CPC, Sega Master System/Mark III, MSX.
When did Gauntlet release?: Gauntlet was first released on October 15, 1985.

About Gauntlet

The players, up to four at once in the arcade version, select among four playable fantasy-based characters; Thor the Warrior, Merlin the Wizard, Thyra the Valkyrie, or Questor the Elf. Each character has his or her own unique strength and weaknesses. For example, the Warrior is strongest in hand-to-hand combat, the Wizard has the most powerful magic, the Valkyrie has the best armour and the Elf is the fastest in movement. Upon selecting a playable character, the gameplay is set within a series of top-down, third-person perspective mazes where the object is to find and touch the designated exit in every level. An assortment of special items can be located in each level that increase player's character's health, unlock doors, gain more points and magical potions that can destroy all of the enemies on screen. The enemies are an assortment of fantasy-based monsters, including ghosts, grunts, demons, lobbers, sorcerers and thieves. Each enters the level through specific generators, which can be destroyed. While there are no bosses in the game, the most dangerous enemy is "Death", who can not only drain a character's health, but is difficult to destroy. As the game progresses, higher levels of skill are needed to reach the exit, with success often depending on the willingness of the players to cooperate by sharing food and luring monsters into places where they can be engaged and slaughtered more conveniently. While contact with enemies reduces the player's health, it also slowly drains on its own, thus creating a time limit. When a character's health reaches zero, that character dies. The character can be revived in place with full health by spending a game credit (i.e. inserting a coin) within a certain short time window after it died. This allows even the least proficient players to keep playing indefinitely, if they are willing to keep inserting coins.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Arcade, Apple IIGS, Atari 8-bit, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, Mac, DOS, Apple II, Xbox 360, Amstrad CPC, Sega Master System/Mark III, MSX
Developer: Atari Games
Publisher: Mindscape, Inc.
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Themes: Action, Fantasy

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

74/100

from 52 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Master System	1990	$10	$39	—	2 reviews	Low (look-alike)

Also released on: Arcade · Apple IIGS · Atari 8-bit · Commodore C64/128/MAX · ZX Spectrum · Atari ST/STE · Mac · DOS · Apple II · Xbox 360 · Amstrad CPC · Sega Master System/Mark III · MSX. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Master System · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-28

Loose

$10

Complete

$39

Sealed

—

How often it sells

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

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-28.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $11.00 in Oct 2009, $9.80 five years ago, and $9.77 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2010	$11.00	—
Jan 2011	$11.00	—
Jan 2012	$11.00	—
Jan 2013	$11.00	—
Jan 2014	$11.00	—
Jan 2015	$11.00	—
Jan 2016	$11.00	—
Jan 2017	$11.00	—
Jan 2018	$11.29	$16.75
Jan 2019	$10.65	$18.35
Jan 2020	$13.03	$22
Jan 2021	$15.56	$19.49
Jan 2022	$13.26	$19.88
Jan 2023	$11.87	$25
Jan 2024	$10.52	$23
Jan 2025	$8.00	$25
Jan 2026	$9.73	$21
Oct 2026	$9.77	$39

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

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number
Europe / PAL	November 1990	25006

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Master System software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published only where both agree on the same cartridge dump; Japanese numbers also checked against Sega Japan's software list. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: EU
Released: 1990
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages and Virtual Console, are not tracked hereLow look-alike risk

Sega Master System prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A European conversion of the Atari arcade maze-crawler that period magazines treated kindly.

This is the Master System version of Atari's 1985 Gauntlet arcade game, developed by Tiertex and published by U.S. Gold in Europe in November 1990. The Games Machine previewed it in May 1990 as a coin-op conversion with simultaneous two-player action and over 100 levels.

ACE said people of all ages could pick up the controls and tasks quickly. In Computer and Video Games in July 1991, a writer described the objective as reaching the exit of each maze while blasting enemies, and thought this Master System version was probably the best yet.

What the press said at the time

Computer + Video Games Issue 110	January 1991	GRAPHICS 93% SOUND 89% VALUE 91% PLAYABILITY 93% OVERALL 92%
Mean Machines Sega Issue 1	October 1992	OVERALL 91%

“The main thing that puts this head and shoulders above practically every other Master System game available is the speed - it's got to rank as one of the fastest games around!”
— Computer + Video Games, January 1991

“This is still a brilliant coin-op conversion that's just as fresh and exciting as it was the day we first plugged it into the Master System. I wouldn't tinker with any of the marks, they're all fine,”
— Mean Machines Sega, October 1992

Before you buy

Only a European cart exists. Loose, it costs a little below the middle of the European-only carts, and the look-alike risk is low. For a complete copy, make sure the manual is there.