Is Keystone Kapers on Steam?

No. Keystone Kapers 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 Keystone Kapers on?

Keystone Kapers is available on ColecoVision, Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200, MSX.

When did Keystone Kapers release?

Keystone Kapers was first released on December 31, 1983.

Keystone Kapers

Dec 31, 1983PlatformColecoVision Atari 2600Atari 8-bitAtari 5200MSX

Keystone Kapers — frequently asked questions

Is Keystone Kapers on Steam?: No. Keystone Kapers 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 Keystone Kapers on?: Keystone Kapers is available on ColecoVision, Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200, MSX.
When did Keystone Kapers release?: Keystone Kapers was first released on December 31, 1983.

About Keystone Kapers

Flash! Harry Hooligan, notorious con-artist, thief and all around-not-a-nice-person, has escaped!! He is now at large and in the vicinity of Southwick‘s Emporium. At this moment, Hooligan is failing every attempt to end his felonious freedom. On the scene is Keystone Kelly, the pride of the men in blue. Officer Kelly, what’s it like in there?” Oh, ‘tis o cryin' shame! Shenanigans like yo wouldn‘t believe! Dastardly deeds that defy description! That rogue is hurlin' everything in reach! Shopping carts, biplanes, beachballs- everything but cathedral radios. LOOK OUT! It's a cathedral radiol! Gotta go! I mean to recover the loot and bust that brute!" Will that double-dyed hoodlum keep Keystone in triple trouble, or will YOU help the greatest gumshoe going catch that no good galoot?? Grab your billyclubs and joysticks! lt's curtains now, Hooligan!"

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: ColecoVision, Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200, MSX
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

78/100

from 16 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Built by
Atari 2600	1983	$9	$50	$150	4 reviews	Activision (designed by Garry Kitchen)

Also released on: ColecoVision · Atari 8-bit · Atari 5200 · MSX. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

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

Loose

Complete

$50

Sealed

$150

Label variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
Blue Label	$17	$45	—

Release record

Territory	Label	Catalog #	Rarity
North America Activision	Standard	AX-025	Common+
North America Activision	Blue	AX-025	Scarce
Europe Activision	White	EAX-025-04I	—
Australia HES	—	—	—

Also released in South America by Unknown, CCE, Polygram, Polyvox, Prom, Shock Vision, Tron, Cosmovision, Supergame, Digivision.

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

Region: NA+EU
Released: 1983
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

Garry Kitchen's Keystone Cops chase is one of Activision's best-liked 2600 platformers and an easy buy.

Garry Kitchen designed Keystone Kapers for the 2600, and Activision released it in May 1983. You play Officer Kelly, racing through four floors of a department store and dodging obstacles to catch the thief Harry Hooligan.

Kitchen made it after working on Space Jockey and a 2600 port of Donkey Kong, and he wanted to build something similar to the latter. Reviewers liked its graphics and gameplay, and it was later ported to the ColecoVision and Atari 5200.

How it was made

Designed by Garry Kitchen after Space Jockey and his 2600 port of Donkey Kong, which he wanted to follow with a game in a similar vein.

What the press said at the time

Electronic Fun with Computers & Games		3.5/4
Micro & Video		3/5
Computer Entertainer Vol. 2 No. 2	May 1983	Graphics ★★★½ · Play-Action ★★★½
Electronic Fun with Computers & Games Vol. 1 No. 8	June 1983	3½ joysticks

“Keystone Kapers is an embarrassing game to review. The concept is original and compulsive, the visuals are as cute as anything ever done for the 2600 and, well, the darn cartridge is just about perfect!”
— Electronic Games, September 1983

“The early levels of the game become quite easy with practice, but the later stages remain challenging. … the strategic possibilities of the game give it more depth of play opportunity than may be obvious at first.”
— Computer Entertainer, May 1983

“Quirks aside, Keystone Kapers is an all-around decent effort. Although it resembles Donkey Kong in some respects, it does offer enough graphic and strategic differences to be labeled an original.”
— Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, June 1983

“Keystone Kapers, by Garry Kitchen, is the cream of the new designer's crop. Utilizing a multi-level, multi-scenario play-mechanic, Garry created a game that's both fascinating to play and a delight to watch.”
— Electronic Games, May 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 4 KB, measured from the preserved dump.

Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.

How the Atari 2600 version differs

The 2600 original had to fit in four kilobytes. Garry Kitchen cut an opening street scene with a Model T-style car because it cost too many bytes.

Computer Entertainer felt that what worked on the 2600 was not varied or exciting enough for the more advanced 5200, and it panned the ColecoVision version too.

Also on other platforms

ColecoVision

Atari 2600	Activision (designed by Garry Kitchen)
ColecoVision	Mike Livesay

Atari 5200. Adds background music and lets the player choose which level to start on.
ColecoVision. Released in June 1984. The Deseret News gave it three stars and praised its graphics as an improvement over the original.
Atari 8-bit. Antic praised the detailed animation, with the cop's legs stretching as he jumps and his uniform creasing as he ducks.

How the other versions reviewed

ColecoVision	AllGame	3/5
ColecoVision	Deseret News	3/4

These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.

Worth knowing

Activision's 25th cart. Arcade Express described it in May 1983 as ""Keystone Kapers", the 25th Atari-compatible cartridge from Activision".
1984 Arkie Award. Keystone Kapers received a Certificate of Merit for Videogame of the Year (under 16K) in the 1984 Arkie Awards.
A rub-and-win card. Arcade Express reported in May 1983 that "Packed with \"Keystone Kapers\" is a rub-and-win card, the first promotion of this type in videogaming", with prizes ranging from $5,000 savings bonds to beach balls. A complete-in-box copy from that run includes the card.

Before you buy

Low risk. Check which label you are looking at: the standard picture-label cart is the cheapest loose, and Activision's plain blue-label version is a later re-release of the same game that costs a little more. Complete copies cost several times the loose price, and sealed copies far more. No reproductions are documented.