Star Wars
Star Wars is a first-person rail shooter designed by Mike Hally and released as an arcade video game in 1983 by Atari, Inc. It uses 3D color vector graphics to simulate the assault on the Death Star from the 1977 film Star Wars. There are three connected gameplay sequences: combat against TIE fighters in space, flying across the surface of the Death Star, and the final trench run. The sequence then repeats with added complications and the Death Star regenerating. The player's X-Wing fighter has a shield which only protects against damage a certain number of times, then the next hit ends the game. Speech synthesis emulates actors from the film.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1983
- Developer
- Atari, Inc.
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 1 May 1983 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Atari, Inc., Vektor Grafix |
| Publisher | Atari, Inc., Parker Brothers, Domark Software |
| Platforms | Arcade |
| Genres | First-Person Shooter |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q54317, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Star Wars? How long to beat it
Total play time for Star Wars is about 2 hours to do everything, and around 0.5 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 | 0.5h | 6 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 1.3h | - |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 2h | 13 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Star Wars sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Star Wars lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 33ahead of 1% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 22ahead of 67% 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 Star Wars
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 Star Wars appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Star Wars qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Part of the Star Wars series
Star Wars is one of 24 Star Wars games we track. See the whole series ranked by the GamingPickz Score, plotted on the grid, and listed in release order:
Common questions about Star Wars
What platforms is Star Wars on?
Star Wars is available on Arcade. It first released in 1983.
Who made Star Wars?
Star Wars was developed by Atari, Inc., Vektor Grafix and published by Atari, Inc., Parker Brothers, Domark Software.
How long does it take to beat Star Wars?
about 0.5 hours for the main story, 1.3 hours with the main extras, 2 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.