Battlezone was published by Atari, Inc., released in 1980.

What kind of game is Battlezone?

Battlezone is a action, simulator, shooter game for the Atari 2600.

Can two people play Battlezone?

No. Battlezone is a single-player game, so it has no two-player mode.

How much data does Battlezone load?

The Battlezone ROM is 8 kB. It is fetched once when you press play and then cached by your browser, so returning to the game does not download it again.

Which emulators can run Battlezone?

Battlezone runs on Atari 2600 and Javatari / Stella JS Engine. You can switch between them from the emulator list further down this page if one performs better on your device.

Battlezone Game (1980) - Atari 2600

Name: Battlezone
Availability: InStock
Author: Atari, Inc.

Action / Button	Keyboard Key
D-Pad (Up / Down / Left / Right)	`Arrow Keys`
Button A	`Z` or `J`
Button B	`X` or `K`
Button X / Turbo A	`A` or `U`
Button Y / Turbo B	`S` or `I`
Select	`Shift`
Start	`Enter`

Gamepad Input	Retro Function	Keyboard Key
D-Pad / Analog	Character Movement / Steering	`▲` `▼` `◄` `►`
Button A (East)	Primary Action / Attack / Fire	`Z` / `K`
Button B (South)	Secondary / Jump / Cancel	`X` / `J`
Button X / Y	Special / Turbo / Extra Fire	`A` / `S`
Select	Insert Coin / Select Option	`Right Shift`
Start	Game Start / Pause Game	`Enter`

Gamepad Input

Retro Function

Keyboard Key

D-Pad / Analog

Character Movement / Steering

▲ ▼ ◄ ►

Button A (East)

Primary Action / Attack / Fire

Z / K

Button B (South)

Secondary / Jump / Cancel

X / J

Button X / Y

Special / Turbo / Extra Fire

A / S

Select

Insert Coin / Select Option

Right Shift

Start

Game Start / Pause Game

Enter

Emulator Core Engine	Technology	Multiplayer	Gamepad	Touch	Ads	Action / Switch
EmulatorJS (Default WebAssembly)	`WebAssembly / JS`	YES	YES	YES	NO	▶ ACTIVE
Atari 2600 (Recommended)	`WebAssembly / Libretro`	YES	YES	YES	NO	PLAY ⚡
Javatari / Stella JS Engine	`WebAssembly / Libretro`	YES	YES	YES	NO	PLAY ⚡

Emulator Core Engine

Technology

Multiplayer

Gamepad

Touch

Ads

Action / Switch

EmulatorJS (Default WebAssembly)

WebAssembly / JS

YES

▶ ACTIVE

Atari 2600 (Recommended)

WebAssembly / Libretro

YES

PLAY ⚡

Javatari / Stella JS Engine

WebAssembly / Libretro

YES

PLAY ⚡

Battlezone is Atari’s 1980 tank combat game, ported to the Atari 2600 by Atari, Inc. You command a lone tank against waves of enemy vehicles — advancing, rotating, and firing to destroy them before they reach you. An on-screen radar marks incoming threats before they enter your field of view, giving you a brief window to turn and fire first.

How to play

Steer with the joystick: push forward to advance, back to reverse, and left/right to rotate in place. The trigger fires your cannon. In the browser, the default key layout is:

Move / steer	Arrow keys
Fire	Spacebar
Turbo	Delete
Reset	F12
Select	F11
Pause	Alt+P

Press F2 to switch between colour and black-and-white mode, and Alt+L to toggle between joystick and paddle input.

Tips

Keep moving at all times — a tank that holds still is easy to hit. Small, constant adjustments make you a harder target.
Check the radar before enemies reach your field of view and rotate to face the nearest threat; getting caught broadside is usually fatal.
UFOs appear only briefly — fire the moment the radar marks one, as they move fast and disappear quickly.