Space Invaders

Space Invaders is a fixed shooter in which the player moves a laser cannon, referred to as a "Laser Base", horizontally across the bottom of the screen and fires at a group of the titular alien invaders overhead. The invaders begin as five rows of eleven—the amount differs in some versions—that move left and right as a group, advancing on the shooter by shifting downward each time they reach a screen edge. The goal is to eliminate all the invaders by shooting them. Regardless of how many game lives the player has remaining, the game ends if the aliens reach the bottom of the screen.

The aliens attempt to destroy the player's cannon by firing projectiles, which costs the player a game life if successful. The game ends after all lives are depleted. The laser cannon is partially protected by stationary defense bunkers that are gradually destroyed from above by the invaders; the bottom will be destroyed if the player fires when beneath one. As the invaders are defeated, their movement, as well as the accompanying music, speeds up.

Space Invaders was developed by Japanese designer Tomohiro Nishikado, who spent a year designing it and developing the necessary hardware to produce it. Because he worked alone and handmade many of the development tools, the process incurred minimal costs. Taito originally did not credit a designer as anonymity was a required part of Nishikado's contract with the company.

The game was a response to Atari, Inc.'s 1976 arcade game Breakout. Nishikado noted that Breakout-style games were very popular in Japan in 1977. He was a fan of the game and aimed to create something better. The developer wanted to adapt the same sense of achievement and tension from destroying targets one at a time, combining it with elements of target shooting games. The game uses a similar layout to that of Breakout but with different game mechanics; rather than bounce a ball to attack static objects, players are given the ability to fire projectiles at moving enemies.

Space Invaders initially received mixed responses from within Taito and little interest from Japanese amusement arcade owners. Nishikado's colleagues praised it, applauding his achievement while queuing up to play, whereas his bosses predicted low sales as games often ended more quickly than timer-based arcade games. While amusement arcade owners initially rejected it, pachinko parlors and bowling alleys adopted the game; Space Invaders caught on in those businesses, with many parlors and alleys installing additional cabinets. Within months, the game became so popular that specialty video arcades, referred to as "Space Invaders Parlours" and "Space Invaders Houses", opened with nothing but Space Invaders cabinets.

A year after its release, Space Invaders became the arcade game industry's all-time best-seller. It remained the top arcade game for three years through 1980. 3 billion in 2025) in Japan alone. By June 1979, each arcade machine was earning an average of $46 (equivalent to $204 in 2025) per day.

Space Invaders has been remade on numerous platforms and spawned many sequels. Re-releases include ported and updated versions of the original arcade game, some of which feature different graphics and additional gameplay options. Sequels feature several modes of gameplay and integrate new elements into the original design. Bally released a pinball version in 1980 with no elements of the arcade game present and the aliens resembling the xenomorphs from the film Alien; Bally was successfully sued over the resemblance to H.

R. Giger's designs. It became the third highest-grossing pinball machine of 1980 in the United States. Super Impulse released a miniature version in 2017 as part of its Tiny Arcade series.