Is Yars' Revenge on Steam?

No. Yars' Revenge 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 Yars' Revenge on?

Yars' Revenge is available on Atari 2600, Web browser, Game Boy Color.

When did Yars' Revenge release?

Yars' Revenge was first released on May 1, 1982.

Yars' Revenge

May 1, 1982ShooterArcadeAtari 2600Web browserGame Boy Color

Yars' Revenge — frequently asked questions

Is Yars' Revenge on Steam?: No. Yars' Revenge 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 Yars' Revenge on?: Yars' Revenge is available on Atari 2600, Web browser, Game Boy Color.
When did Yars' Revenge release?: Yars' Revenge was first released on May 1, 1982.

About Yars' Revenge

Yars' Revenge is a video game released for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It was created by Howard Scott Warshaw and was Atari's best-selling original title for the 2600.

Summary via IGDB.

Yars' Revenge on Wikipedia

Yars' Revenge is a 1982 fixed shooter video game developed by and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. Set in the Razak solar system, it focuses on the conflict between the Yars, a fly-like humanoid alien race, and the Qotile, who have destroyed their habitable planets. The player controls a Yar tasked with destroying the Qotile's energy shield, and finishing off the enemy with the Zorlon cannon.

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

Game details

Platforms: Atari 2600, Web browser, Game Boy Color
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Science fiction

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

56/100

from 24 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Built by
Atari 2600	1982	$5	$20	$50	★★★	Atari (designed by Howard Scott Warshaw)

Also released on: Web browser · Game Boy Color. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

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

Loose

Complete

$20

Sealed

$50

Label variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
Tele-Games	$5	$40	—
Limited Edition	—	$25	$150

Release record

Territory	Label	Catalog #	Rarity
North America Atari	Picture	CX2655	Common+
North America Atari	Red	CX2655	Rare
North America Sears	Picture	49-75167	Scarce+
Europe Atari	Red	CX2655	Scarce
Asia Atari	—	—	—

Also released in South America by Polyvox.

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

Region: NA+EU
Released: 1982
Controller: Atari Joystick
Players: 1 - 2
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

Howard Scott Warshaw's best-loved 2600 original, a staple that costs very little loose and is on Atari 50.

Yars' Revenge is a 1982 fixed shooter that Atari developed and published for the 2600 in May 1982. You control a Yar, a fly-like alien, who must chew through the Qotile's energy shield and then finish the enemy with the Zorlon cannon. Howard Scott Warshaw was first asked to port the arcade game Star Castle, but turned the project into an original design, shaping the gameplay around feedback from his co-workers.

Warshaw also wrote the backstory, which was adapted into a comic book packed with the game. Retrospective reviews have been positive, and the game has had several follow-ups and remakes, including Yars: Recharged in 2022 and Yars Rising in 2024. The original is on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration.

How it was made

Designed by Howard Scott Warshaw at Atari, starting from an assignment to port Star Castle. Released in May 1982, sold also by Sears, with a PAL release in 1983.

What the press said at the time

JoyStik January 1983

January 1983

★★★

“A combination of familiar play elements and somewhat revolutionary packaging concepts combine to make Yars' Revenge a potential blockbuster that misses greatness by an eyelash. … In this regard, Yar is far too static.”
— Electronic Games, October 1982

“Yars' Revenge is colorful and easy to play; it should have great appeal among small children. Adults, however, may find game- play a bit too repetitive.”
— JoyStik, January 1983

JoyStik’s capsule ratings run from one star to five.

Cartridge & preservation record

Program size 4 KB, measured from the preserved dump.

Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.

How the Atari 2600 version differs

The 2600 original plays on a single screen; the 1999 Game Boy Color remake added a scrolling screen, a secret bonus level, intermission screens and a password-based continue system.

Also on other platforms

Game Boy Color

Atari 2600	Atari (designed by Howard Scott Warshaw)
Game Boy Color	Mike Mika
Game Boy Color	Telegames (publisher)

Game Boy Color. The Game Boy Color remake was developed in the mid-1990s by Mike Mika and released by Telegames in September 1999.
Arcade. Atari programmer Dave Theurer was interested in making an arcade conversion of the game, but it never went into development.

Worth knowing

Started as a port. Yars' Revenge began as an assignment to convert the arcade game Star Castle to the 2600 and became an original game instead.
A movie-theater commercial. Atari Age reprinted a 1983 Technology Illustrated feature on "a new, two-minute commercial that Atari has produced for movie theaters" to sell three new Atari products, including Yars' Revenge. It was made by the Los Angeles studio Robert Abel and Associates, whose work then ran at "an average cost of $100,000 for a 30-second spot".
The HSW initials. Answering a reader who saw "HSWWSH", Atari Age was "allowed to tell you two things. 'HSW' are the initials of the programmer" and the method was hidden in the manual's "Helpful Hints" section.
Anticipating the Qotile. An Electronic Fun reader tip from January 1983: "at the beginning of every game the Qotile launches its missiles within 10 to 15 seconds. It's one of the few times that you can actually anticipate a launch."

Before you buy

Low risk; this is a common, cheap staple and not a reproduction target. Three versions are priced. The standard Atari cart is the cheap everyday copy. The Sears Tele-Games cart is similar loose but costs much more boxed. A Limited Edition listing is priced separately, so check exactly what the label and box say before comparing prices. If you are buying complete, ask whether the comic book is included, since it shipped with the game.