Galaxian
Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who dive down towards the player in an attempt to hit them.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1979
- Developer
- Namco
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 1 January 1979 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Namco |
| Publisher | Namco |
| Platforms | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Genres | First-Person Shooter |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q1192514, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Galaxian? How long to beat it
Total play time for Galaxian is about 0.8 hours to do everything, and around 0.3 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 0.3h | 30 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 0.6h | 3 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 0.8h | 3 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Galaxian sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Galaxian lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 27ahead of 0% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 48ahead of 86% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Galaxian
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Galaxian appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Galaxian qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Galaxian
What platforms is Galaxian on?
Galaxian is available on Nintendo Entertainment System. It first released in 1979.
Who made Galaxian?
Galaxian was developed by Namco and published by Namco.
How long does it take to beat Galaxian?
about 0.3 hours for the main story, 0.6 hours with the main extras, 0.8 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.