When did Star Control release?

Star Control was first released on December 31, 1990.

Star Control

Dec 31, 1990StrategyCommodore C64/128/MAXSega Mega Drive/GenesisDOSAmigaAmstrad CPC

Star Control — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Star Control on?: Star Control was released on Commodore C64/128/MAX, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, DOS, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum.
When did Star Control release?: Star Control was first released on December 31, 1990.

About Star Control

Star Control is a science-fiction wargame which pits the forces of The Alliance of Free Stars against those of the predatory Ur-Quan Hierarchy. The game is designed so that you can ease into play, familiarizing yourself with menus, options, and player controls. The Alliance and Hierarchy each possess seven different types of warships. Each vessel has its own maneuvering and firing characteristics, plus a unique special power that you can employ when circumstances dictate. Mankind is about to be wiped off the face of the galactic map. A savage clutch of alien races called the Ur-Quan Hierachy has become the “evil empire” of the 27th century- ruthlessly invading interstellar neighbors. Humanity is next on their list. Your job is to make sure that they don’t succeed. The entire Alliance of Free Stars battlefleet awaits your orders.

Summary via IGDB.

Star Control on Wikipedia

Star Control: Famous Battles of the Ur-Quan Conflict, Volume IV is an action-strategy video game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. It was originally released for MS-DOS and Amiga in 1990, followed by ports for the Sega Genesis and additional platforms in 1991. The story is set during an interstellar war between two space alien factions, with humanity joining the Alliance of Free Stars to defeat the invading Ur-Quan Hierarchy. Players can choose to play as either faction, each with seven different alien starships which are used during the game's combat and strategy sections.

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

Game details

Developer: Toys for Bob
Publisher: Accolade
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Themes: Action, Science fiction

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

80/100

from 14 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Fake risk
Sega Genesis	1991	$15	$49	$150	Low

Also released on: Commodore C64/128/MAX · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis · DOS · Amiga · Amstrad CPC · ZX Spectrum. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29

Loose

$15

Complete

$49

Sealed

$150

few sales

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
European (PAL) release	$17	$65	—

How often it sells

Loose: about once a week
Complete: about once a week
Sealed: about once a year

Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $9.09 in Oct 2007, $19.99 five years ago, and $15.38 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2008	$12.90	—
Jan 2009	$4.25	—
Jan 2010	$9.00	—
Jan 2011	$8.99	—
Jan 2012	$6.50	—
Jan 2013	$10.00	—
Jan 2014	$9.70	$14.99
Jan 2015	$9.47	$14.50
Jan 2016	$9.89	$24
Jan 2017	$19.35	$30
Jan 2018	$13.95	$35
Jan 2019	$15.47	$28
Jan 2020	$14.47	$27
Jan 2021	$12.74	$27
Jan 2022	$22	$42
Jan 2023	$14.47	$37
Jan 2024	$16.99	$40
Jan 2025	$14.90	$41
Jan 2026	$19.99	$51
Oct 2026	$15.38	$49

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

Release record

Territory	Date	Barcode
North America	June 1991	015605031021
Europe / PAL	July 1991	—

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Mega Drive software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published where both agree on the same cartridge dump, or from the libretro records alone where MAME lists no number for that dump. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA+EU
Released: 1991
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages, the Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Online, are not tracked hereLow counterfeit risk

Sega Genesis prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A Genesis port of a computer space-combat strategy game, with extra scenarios.

Star Control on the Genesis was developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade in June 1991 in North America and July 1991 in Europe. This is an unlicensed cart, made without Sega's licence. The game began on MS-DOS and Amiga in 1990; the Genesis cart is a port.

Its strategy campaign has fifteen missions on the Genesis, against nine on the home computers, and the Genesis version has additional scenarios. Fred Ford led the port team. Mega Tech described two space empires fighting it out in a take on the arcade Space War with an extra strategy layer.

Also on other platforms

Amiga · MS-DOS · Amstrad CPC · Commodore 64 · ZX Spectrum

Before you buy

The European cart usually costs a little more than the North American one when loose, and noticeably more when complete. Loose carts sit below the middle of the unlicensed pack.