Is Xenophobe on Steam?

No. Xenophobe 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 Xenophobe on?

Xenophobe is available on Arcade, Atari 7800, Atari 2600, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari Lynx, Atari ST/STE, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, NES, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Lynx.

When did Xenophobe release?

Xenophobe was first released on December 31, 1987.

Xenophobe

Dec 31, 1987ShooterArcadeArcadeAtari 7800 Atari 2600Commodore C64/128/MAXZX Spectrum

Xenophobe — frequently asked questions

Is Xenophobe on Steam?: No. Xenophobe 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 Xenophobe on?: Xenophobe is available on Arcade, Atari 7800, Atari 2600, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari Lynx, Atari ST/STE, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, NES, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Lynx.
When did Xenophobe release?: Xenophobe was first released on December 31, 1987.

About Xenophobe

Xenophobe is a 1987 arcade game and the goal of each level is to defeat all the aliens before time runs out. Levels may contain more than one floor, and players use elevators or holes to move between floors to defeat all of the aliens. Players can also pick up more powerful weapons and other items to help in their eradication of the aliens.

Summary via IGDB.

Xenophobe on Wikipedia

Xenophobe is a 1987 action video game developed and published by Bally Midway for arcades. The game sees up to three players attempting to clear an area of as many aliens as possible under a time limit.

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

Game details

Platforms: Arcade, Atari 7800, Atari 2600, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari Lynx, Atari ST/STE, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, NES, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Lynx
Developer: Bally Midway
Publisher: Bally Midway
Game modes: Single player, Co-operative, Split screen
Themes: Action, Science fiction, Horror, Comedy

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

58/100

from 9 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Built by
Atari Lynx Details ↓	1990	$48	$72	$110	—
Atari 2600 Details ↓	1991	$21	$36	$52	Atari

Also released on: Arcade · Atari 7800 · Commodore C64/128/MAX · ZX Spectrum · Atari ST/STE · Amiga · Amstrad CPC · NES · Atari ST · Commodore 64 · Lynx. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions 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 Lynx · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-08-07

Loose

$48

Complete

$72

Sealed

$110

Region: NA+EU+JP
Released: 1990
Authenticity: Low

Never re-released — the original cartridge is the only way to playLow counterfeit risk

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

The Atari Lynx version

Epyx's three-panel arcade port, and one of the few genuinely three-player-capable games on the system.

A 1990 Epyx release and one of the earlier titles, which usually means a large print run and a low price — Xenophobe is the exception, sitting well above the platform median. The arcade original's split-screen design maps onto ComLynx naturally: link consoles and each player gets their own view of the same infested station.

It also had a Japanese release through Mumin Corporation, one of only 17 Lynx titles that did.

How it was made

Produced at Atari's newly-opened Chicago development facility, which Electronic Gaming Monthly reported in issue 5 was set up "to capture not only arcade licences, but also inject some new energy into their system". The same report credits the studio with Xenophobe and a conversion of Mat Mania that never shipped.

What the press said at the time

“The ability for two players to explore the hundreds of screens in this game from completely separate perspectives enables you to work in tandem against the tentacled terrors, or you have the option of venturing off and zapping the monsters solo. Whichever way you play, Xenophobe dishes up some of the best action Atari has ever seen.”
— Electronic Gaming Monthly #4

Cartridge & preservation record

Cartridge ROM capacity 1 megabit (128 KB), measured from the preserved cartridge image.

Surviving pre-release builds

1990-11-12

Beta

1 Mbit

Catalogue part number PA2026

Cartridge data from the No-Intro preservation database (metadata only — names, sizes and checksums, no game data).

Worth knowing

An expanded version of the arcade game, not a straight port. EGM #12 described the Lynx cartridge as "an expanded version of the classic coin-op". Its two-player mode is the standout: EGM #4 noted that two players explore "the hundreds of screens in this game from completely separate perspectives", either working in tandem or splitting up entirely — over ComLynx.

Before you buy

An early title, so it exists in more than one cartridge shell style — flat first-generation copies are what variant collectors want, and generalist price guides do not track them separately. A 1990 big box paired with a late curved-lip cart is a mismatch, not necessarily fraud, but it is not the original product.

Collector value & authenticity

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

Loose

$21

Complete

$36

Sealed

$52

Release record

Territory	Label	Catalog #	Rarity
North America Atari	Red	CX26172	Very Rare

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

Region: NA
Released: 1991
Controller: Atari Joystick
Players: 1 - 2
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

The Atari 2600 version

One of the last new games Atari made for the 2600, an arcade conversion that arrived as the system was being wound down.

Xenophobe started as a 1987 Bally Midway arcade game about clearing an area of aliens against the clock. Atari Corp announced the 2600 conversion in 1990, and it reached stores in the US in spring 1991 alongside Ikari Warriors, MotoRodeo and Sentinel, the last new 2600 games Atari released in North America.

That timing is the main reason to own it. Little is documented about how the 2600 version itself played or was received.

Cartridge & preservation record

Program size 16 KB, measured from the preserved dump.

Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.

Also on other platforms

Arcade · NES · Atari 7800 · ZX Spectrum · Amiga · Amstrad CPC · Atari ST · Commodore 64 · Lynx

Atari 2600	Atari
Atari 7800	BlueSky Software
Lynx	Epyx
NES	Sunsoft
Commodore 64	Microplay

Lynx. IGN's Robert A. Jung called the Lynx version arguably more fun than the arcade original; it also adds the Festor enemy found in the arcade game.
Atari 8-bit. A port to Atari 8-bit computers was worked on but never published.

Before you buy

Low risk. No reproductions are documented. Late Atari Corp carts use a universal 2600/7800 shell with no dust door and a cheaper gray label, and new collectors sometimes mistake them for fakes. That shell is correct for this game.