Spacewar!
The space duel that started it all, reinvented. Vector ships, a planet that pulls you in, torpedoes, phaser and hyperspace. An adaptation of the 1980s MS-DOS version of the legendary Spacewar! (PDP-1, 1962). 1 to 4 players, local and online, friends or bots. CRT neon, pure inertia.
First-Person ShooterSimulation
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- Released
- 1962
- Developer
- Steve Russell
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- unknown
- Download
- 0.2 GB
What is Spacewar!?
The space duel that started it all, reinvented. Vector ships, a planet that pulls you in, torpedoes, phaser and hyperspace. An adaptation of the 1980s MS-DOS version of the legendary Spacewar! (PDP-1, 1962). 1 to 4 players, local and online, friends or bots. CRT neon, pure inertia.
Description as published by the developer on its own store page, read 30 August 2026. It is marketing copy, not our assessment.
The record
| First released | 1 January 1962 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Steve Russell |
| Publisher | Steve Russell |
| Platforms | PC |
| Genres | First-Person Shooter, Simulation |
| Languages | 12 supported |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q782919, seeded 30 August 2026. Store data from Steam, read 30 August 2026.
How was Spacewar! received?
Method. Player figures are Steam's own totals for the PC version, read 30 August 2026. The Metacritic score is the one Steam publishes on its store page and can lag the site itself. Neither is our opinion. We have not published a review of this game.
Accessibility
Seeing
None declared
Hearing
- Custom Volume Controls
- Stereo Sound
Input
- Full controller support
- Keyboard Only Option
- Playable without Timed Input
Difficulty
- Adjustable Difficulty
Method. Features the publisher declared on its own store page. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
What does it support?
| Capability | Support |
|---|---|
| Controller | full support |
| Cloud saves | No |
| Cross-platform play | Yes |
| Mod support | No official workshop |
| Online play | Yes |
| In-game purchases | No |
| Steam Deck | unknown |
| Download size | 0.2 GB |
| Add-on content | None listed |
| Age gate | None |
Method. Read from the publisher's Steam listing on 30 August 2026. Describes the PC version. Console versions differ.
What does it cost?
Steam price in US dollars, read 30 August 2026. Prices move hourly and vary by region. Check the current price.
Is Spacewar! worth it?
100% of 9 Steam reviews are positive, which Steam rates 9 user reviews. It costs $2.99 on Steam.
That is the data, not a verdict for sale: whether it is worth it depends on the price you pay and what you want. We have not published our own review of this game.
How long is Spacewar!? How long to beat it
Total play time for Spacewar! is about 23.8 hours to do everything, and around 10 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 | 10h | 1 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 12h | 1 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 23.8h | 7 |
At its current price of $2.99, beating the main story works out to about $0.30 per hour. That is the price divided by the hours, a value read and not a verdict: a longer game costs less per hour, which is not the same as being the better game.
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Spacewar! system requirements
The minimum requirements from Spacewar!'s Steam page. These are what it takes to launch and be playable, not to run at high settings.
| Memory | 2 GB RAM (other games at this level) |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i3-2100 / AMD FX-4100 (SSE2 required) |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 4000 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 / AMD Radeon HD 6570 — · runs on a low-end GPU |
| Storage | 0.2 GB (more games this size) |
| System | 64-bit OS required |
Where Spacewar! sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Spacewar! lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 0ahead of 0% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 65ahead of 97% 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.
Spacewar! price & deals: is it on sale?
We have one reading so far: $2.99 on 30 August 2026. Prices are checked daily from here, and this becomes a chart once there is more than one point to join. A single observation is a price, not a history.
Latest Spacewar! updates & patch notes
Pulled from Spacewar!'s own Steam feed on 5 September 2026. Posts marked as from the studio were written by the developer; the rest are articles Steam syndicated from elsewhere. Every one links to its source.
What readers say about Spacewar!
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 Spacewar! appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Spacewar! qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Spacewar!
What platforms is Spacewar! on?
Spacewar! is available on PC. It first released in 1962.
How much does Spacewar! cost?
$2.99 on Steam in the United States, read on 30 August 2026. Prices move often and vary by region, so check the store before buying.
Do players recommend Spacewar!?
100% of 9 Steam reviews are positive, which Steam rates 9 user reviews. That is players rating it, not our review. We have not published a review of this game.
How big is the Spacewar! download?
0.2 GB on PC, from the storage requirement on its Steam listing. Console versions differ.
Who made Spacewar!?
Spacewar! was developed by Steve Russell and published by Steve Russell.
Is Spacewar! worth it in 2026?
100% of 9 Steam reviews are positive (9 user reviews), and it is $2.99 on steam. That is the strongest signal we hold; "worth it" depends on the price you pay and what you want, so weigh the sentiment against the current price above.
Is Spacewar! on sale?
Not at the moment. Spacewar! is at its $2.99 list price on Steam, read on 30 August 2026. It has been cheaper before; the price history above shows when.
What are the system requirements for Spacewar!?
At minimum, Spacewar! needs 2 GB RAM, a Intel Core i3-2100 / AMD FX-4100 (SSE2 required), a Intel HD Graphics 4000 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 / AMD Radeon HD 6570 —, 0.2 GB of storage, from its Steam listing. That is what it takes to launch and be playable, not to run at high settings. Check it against your own PC on the can-I-run page.
How long does it take to beat Spacewar!?
about 10 hours for the main story, 12 hours with the main extras, 23.8 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.
Is Spacewar! worth the money?
At $2.99 for about 10 hours to beat the main story, Spacewar! works out to roughly $0.30 per hour. That is a value read, not a verdict: a longer game costs less per hour, which is not the same as being better. Weigh it against the review sentiment above.