No. Solaris 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 Solaris on?

Solaris is available on Atari 2600.

When did Solaris release?

Solaris was first released on November 1, 1986.

Solaris

Nov 1, 1986ShooterSimulatorAtari 2600

Solaris — frequently asked questions

Is Solaris on Steam?: No. Solaris 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 Solaris on?: Solaris is available on Atari 2600.
When did Solaris release?: Solaris was first released on November 1, 1986.

About Solaris

Solaris is a space combat game for the Atari 2600 published in 1986 by Atari Corporation. It was developed by Doug Neubauer, who owns the copyright and the Solaris trademark. The game is a sequel to Neubauer's Atari 8-bit family game Star Raiders from 1979. Both games feature an enemy race known as Zylons, but Star Raiders uses a first-person perspective while Solaris is in third-person. Solaris was at one point going to be based on The Last Starfighter, while the Atari 8-bit version of The Last Starfighter was renamed Star Raiders 2.

Summary via IGDB.

Solaris on Wikipedia

Solaris is a 1986 space combat video game developed and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari 2600. The game involves a player seeking out the planet Solaris via their starship. To accomplish this, the player must navigate the galactic scanner to explore quadrants of a map. Doing so allows them to explore Federation planets to refuel their ship, and engage in combat with hostile aliens known as the Zylons.

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

Game details

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

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

52/100

from 7 ratings

Collector value & authenticity

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

Loose

$13

Complete

$26

Sealed

$35

Release record

Territory	Label	Catalog #	Rarity
North America Atari	Red	CX26136	Common+
Europe Atari	Red - Color picture	CX26136	Scarce+

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

Region: NA
Released: 1986
Controller: Atari Joystick
Players: 1
Authenticity: Low

On Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration since Nov 11, 2022 — the cartridge is now a collectibleLow counterfeit risk

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

One of the best-looking games on the system, from the man who made Star Raiders, and it nearly never came out.

Solaris is a 1986 space combat game by Doug Neubauer, who had made Star Raiders for the Atari 8-bit computers and several film tie-ins for Fox Video Games. You hunt for the planet Solaris by working a galactic scanner across map quadrants, refueling at Federation planets and fighting the hostile Zylons along the way.

Neubauer pitched the game to Atari in 1984, when it was planned as a tie-in to the film The Last Starfighter. After Jack Tramiel bought Atari, Inc.'s assets that year, console game production stopped and Solaris stalled. Neubauer was only asked to finish it in 1986, after a remodeled 2600 had launched. AllGame, Computer Entertainer and Retro Gamer have all praised it as having some of the best graphics on the 2600, and Retro Gamer called it one of the best games for the system. It is on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration.

How it was made

Programmed by Doug Neubauer and published by Atari Corporation in November 1986, two years after he first pitched it as a Last Starfighter tie-in.

What the press said at the time

Computer Entertainer Vol. 5 No. 10

January 1987

Graphics ♦♦♦♦ · Play-Action ♦♦♦♦

“Without question, SOLARIS is the best space game ever done for this system. Calling on both strategic planning and joystick skills, the game has long-term playability and plenty of depth.”
— Computer Entertainer, January 1987

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.

Cartridge & preservation record

Program size 16 KB, measured from the preserved dump.

Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.

Worth knowing

Shown at June 1986 CES. The Video Game Update's June 1986 CES report listed it among Atari's new 2600 titles: "SOLARIS (a sophisticated space game by Doug Neubauer)".

Before you buy

Low risk and inexpensive in every grade. This is an Atari Corp release, and late Atari Corp cartridges came in a universal 2600/7800 shell with no dust door and a cheaper gray label. That is normal, not a sign of a fake. A complete copy is an easy choice.