Is Sub Scan on Steam?

No. Sub Scan 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 Sub Scan on?

Sub Scan is available on Atari 2600.

When did Sub Scan release?

Sub Scan was first released on December 31, 1983.

Sub Scan

Dec 31, 1983StrategyTacticalArcadeAtari 2600

Sub Scan — frequently asked questions

Is Sub Scan on Steam?: No. Sub Scan 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 Sub Scan on?: Sub Scan is available on Atari 2600.
When did Sub Scan release?: Sub Scan was first released on December 31, 1983.

About Sub Scan

Now hear this! Now hear this! All hands man your battle stations. Enemy submarines have been detected in your waters. You command a destroyer which can launch as many as four depth charges at a time. Your mission is to sink as many enemy subs as possible. But it’s not that simple. Because SUB-SCAN is more than a shooting match. It’s a game of strategy. A battle of wits. Can-and-mouse on the high seas between the hunter above and the hunted below.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Atari 2600
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Inc.
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Warfare

Details via IGDB.

Collector value & authenticity

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

Loose

$15

Complete

$45

Sealed

—

Release record

Territory	Label	Rarity
North America Sega	Grip Case	Scarce+

North America: Catalog number 01-002 is disputed: it is listed for two different Sega games, so it is withheld here.

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

Region: NA
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

Sega's 2600 version of an old submarine-hunting arcade game, simple and cheap.

Sub-Scan is the Atari 2600 port of Deep Scan, a 1979 Sega arcade game in which a ship on the surface tries to destroy submarines below it. Sega published the 2600 version in 1983. Little else is documented about this version.

What the press said at the time

Computer Entertainer Vol. 2 No. 2	May 1983	Graphics ★★★ · Play-Action ★★★
Electronic Fun with Computers & Games Vol. 1 No. 11	September 1983	2 joysticks

“In the earlier, slower rounds, subs can become so easy to pick off that you may be lulled into thinking that this is a very easy game. However, as your score increases, the speed of the subs also increases, and they can become maddeningly difficult”
— Computer Entertainer, May 1983

“Whatever the reason, and whether you know the coin-op version or not, you'll probably find Sub Scan as challenging—and as pointless—as catching fish by dropping rocks on them.”
— Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, September 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.

Before you buy

Low risk, with no documented reproductions. Loose copies are inexpensive, and boxed copies cost a few times more. The arcade game was called Deep Scan, but the cartridge carries the Sub-Scan name.