The Dreadnaught Factor
The Dreadnaught Factor — frequently asked questions
- Is The Dreadnaught Factor on Steam?
- No. The Dreadnaught Factor 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 The Dreadnaught Factor on?
- The Dreadnaught Factor is available on Atari 8-bit, Intellivision, Atari 5200.
- When did The Dreadnaught Factor release?
- The Dreadnaught Factor was first released on December 31, 1983.
About The Dreadnaught Factor
"Oh dear." The scene: Space. The cosmic edge. Never deeper, never darker. The Home Team: A Stargate. A squadron of Hyperfighters. A glittering, pulsating sea of unstable energy. (Please--no quick or sudden movements.) The Challengers: Dreadnaughts. We're talkin' size LARGE. Behemoths. Invincible. Or so some say. You succeed: Universal applause. Life in the fast lane. Early retirement. Endorsements. You name it, it's yours. You fail: Not a viable alternative. You want I should draw you a picture? Distinctly unpretty. The Big Zip. Kaput. Finito. Capice?
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- Atari 8-bit, Intellivision, Atari 5200
- Developer
- Cheshire Engineering
- Publisher
- Activision
- Game modes
- Single player
- Themes
- Action, Science fiction
Details via IGDB.
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Built by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari 5200Details ↓ | 1984 | $41 | $56 | — | — | — |
| IntellivisionDetails ↓ | 1983 | $18 | $44 | $100 | 2 reviews | Tom Loughry |
Also released on: Atari 8-bit. We haven’t priced or authenticated that version yet.
Prices are per version and are not interchangeable, and neither are the reviews: conversions in this era were often built by a different studio than the original, so a score earned on one machine says nothing about how another plays.
Collector value & authenticity
Atari 5200 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-19
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about 6 times a year
- Sealed: about 2 times a year
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-19.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $13.99 in Apr 2015, $41 five years ago, and $41 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2016 | $15.99 | $28 |
| Jan 2017 | $11.50 | $17.95 |
| Jan 2018 | $18.34 | $50 |
| Jan 2019 | $19.79 | $35 |
| Jan 2020 | $19.43 | $39 |
| Jan 2021 | $26 | $55 |
| Jan 2022 | $54 | $74 |
| Jan 2023 | $46 | $61 |
| Jan 2024 | $45 | $104 |
| Jan 2025 | $41 | $60 |
| Jan 2026 | $39 | $55 |
| Oct 2026 | $41 | $56 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Label | Catalog # | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America Activision | Standard | FZ-005 | Scarce |
Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 5200 software database
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1984
- Controller
- Joystick
- Players
- 1
- Authenticity
- Low
The Atari 5200 version
An obscure Activision shooter on the 5200 with a modest reputation and little written about this version.
Activision published The Dreadnaught Factor for the 5200 in 1984, after the Intellivision original and alongside an Atari 8-bit version. AtariAge lists Eric Nickell as programmer and Tom Loughry as designer. It is a one-player, vertically scrolling shooter, and AtariAge rates the 5200 cartridge Scarce.
Little is documented about the 5200 version beyond its publisher, release year and credits.
How it was made
AtariAge credits Eric Nickell as programmer and Tom Loughry as designer.
How the Atari 5200 version differs
The 5200 version is a 1984 port of Activision's Intellivision game, released alongside an Atari 8-bit port.
Also on other platforms
Intellivision
| Intellivision | Cheshire Engineering |
Before you buy
Low risk. Check the controller before paying: the original sticks fail often, and the non-centering design is how they are meant to work. Activision's later 5200 releases may have shipped in 2600-style boxes with a 5200 sticker and a photocopied manual, so do not treat that as a sign of a fake.
Collector value & authenticity
Intellivision · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-20
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about 2 times a month
- Sealed: about 4 times a year
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-20.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $9.99 in Apr 2009, $25 five years ago, and $17.92 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2010 | $9.99 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $12.47 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $19.99 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.99 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $14.90 | $18.00 |
| Jan 2015 | $19.99 | $22 |
| Jan 2016 | $7.99 | $13.50 |
| Jan 2017 | $14.99 | $23 |
| Jan 2018 | $14.27 | $20 |
| Jan 2019 | $11.99 | $22 |
| Jan 2020 | $16.99 | $23 |
| Jan 2021 | $20 | $25 |
| Jan 2022 | $29 | $49 |
| Jan 2023 | $24 | $30 |
| Jan 2024 | $17.99 | $35 |
| Jan 2025 | $12.99 | $34 |
| Jan 2026 | $15.28 | $33 |
| Oct 2026 | $17.92 | $44 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1983
- Authenticity
- Low
The Intellivision version
Activision's one-player space shooter against enormous battlestars, praised in 1984 and the original behind the later Atari ports.
Tom Loughry designed The Dreadnaught Factor, and Cheshire Engineering developed it for Activision in 1983, one of several Intellivision games from that studio. You pilot a tiny hyperfighter against an armada of more than a hundred Dreadnaughts, ships vastly larger than yours; Activision's ad invited you to choose between going for the energy vents or the engines. Electronic Games reviewed it in mid-1984 for the Intellivision and Intellivision II, calling it one of several excellent one-player science-fiction titles from Activision and welcoming it as a belated burst of new software for the console.
This is the Intellivision cartridge the later Atari versions on this page were ported from.
How it was made
Designed by Tom Loughry and developed by Cheshire Engineering for Activision.
What the press said at the time
| Computer Entertainer Vol. 2 No. 5 | August 1983 | Graphics ★★★ · Play-Action ★★★½ |
| JoyStik Vol. 2 | December 1983 | ★★★★ |
“It's also satisfying to play a game you can play to win, and not just amass many thousands of points. One of the best features of this game is its exceptionally wide range of difficulty levels.”
“Activision's first attempt at a space-oriented game for Intellivision is a sure winner. … The graphics are sensational and from the hum of the engines to the various explosions the sounds are awesome.”
“The only glitch in this otherwise fine contest is a visual one … Livid pinks, purples and yellows create a somewhat eye-blurring color-riot effect.”
Computer Entertainer rated graphics first and play action second, from four symbols (excellent) to one (poor) — diamonds through early 1987, stars after — comparing each game only with other games for the same system. JoyStik’s capsule ratings run from one star to five.
Before you buy
Activision's copies shipped with two keypad overlays, and a complete copy also includes a catalog. Some copies have the mail-in Dreadnaught Destroyer patch. It is a step above the cheapest carts, and the box and manual carry much of a complete copy's value, with sealed copies commanding a strong premium. The magazine described it as playable on both the original Intellivision and the Intellivision II.
The Dreadnaught Factor screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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