Breakout is an action video game created in 1976 by Atari, Inc. for arcade machines. In Japan, the game was released by Namco. Nolan Bushnell and Steve Bristow designed the game, and Steve Wozniak built the prototype using special computer parts with help from Steve Jobs. In the game, eight rows of bricks appear at the top of the screen. The player must use a paddle to bounce a ball into the bricks and destroy them. This idea was inspired by Atari’s earlier game Pong (1972), though a similar game called Clean Sweep (1974) came before Breakout. The arcade version of Breakout uses a black and white screen covered with a colored sheet.
Breakout was very popular worldwide. It was among the top five most profitable arcade games in the U.S. and Japan in 1976 and among the top three in both countries in 1977. A version of the game was released in 1978 for the Atari 2600 with colored graphics. A sequel called Super Breakout came out in 1978 and added multiple balls that bounce. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs later started the Apple Computer Company with Ronald Wayne. The Apple II computer, mostly designed by Wozniak, includes technology inspired by Breakout’s hardware.
Atari faced legal challenges over whether they could copyright Breakout, but they were allowed to do so. Despite this, many similar games were created. In Japan, these games are called "block kuzushi" games. Breakout inspired Taito’s Arkanoid (1986), which led to many other games. It also influenced the design of Taito’s Space Invaders (1978).
Gameplay
Breakout starts with eight rows of bricks, two rows each of four different colors. From the bottom up, the colors are yellow, green, orange, and red. The player uses a single ball to knock down bricks by bouncing the ball off the walls and a paddle below. If the paddle misses the ball when it bounces back, the player loses a turn. The player has three turns to clear two screens of bricks. Yellow bricks give 1 point each, green bricks give 3 points, orange bricks give 5 points, and red bricks on top give 7 points each. After the ball hits the top wall after breaking through the red row, the paddle becomes half its size. The ball moves faster after four hits, after twelve hits, and when it hits orange or red bricks.
The highest score for one player is 864, achieved by clearing two screens of bricks, each worth 432 points. After destroying the second screen, the ball bounces around empty walls until the game restarts, since no more screens appear. However, in two-player mode, if Player One finishes the first screen on their third and final ball, then lets the ball fall, Player Two gets a third screen. If Player Two clears this screen, they can score up to 1,312 points. Once the third screen is destroyed, the game ends.
The original Breakout arcade cabinet shows a prison escape story. The player is an inmate trying to hit a ball and chain into a prison wall with a mallet. If the wall is destroyed in the game, the inmate escapes, followed by others.
Development
A game called Clean Sweep, made by Ramtek in 1974, was an early version of Breakout. In Clean Sweep, players use a paddle to hit a ball upward through a field of dots. As the ball moves, the dots disappear. The goal is to clear all the dots in one play. Clean Sweep was one of the top ten best-selling arcade games in 1974 and sold 3,500 arcade cabinets.
Breakout was a game that used simple electronic circuits instead of a microprocessor. It was designed by Nolan Bushnell and Steve Bristow, who worked for Atari and its subsidiary Kee Games. Atari created new video games using Pong technology to compete with other companies that made similar games. Bushnell wanted to change Pong into a single-player game where the player uses a paddle to keep a ball bouncing to break bricks. He believed the game would be popular and partnered with Steve Bristow to develop it. Al Alcorn was the project manager and started work with Cyan Engineering in 1975. Bushnell asked Steve Jobs, who was not an engineer, to design a prototype. Jobs was offered $750, with extra money for each TTL chip used if it was fewer than 50. Jobs promised to finish the prototype in four days.
Bushnell offered the bonus because he thought Atari’s new games used too many chips, around 150 to 170. He knew Jobs’ friend, Steve Wozniak, who worked at Hewlett-Packard, had made a Pong version using about 30 chips. Jobs had no experience designing circuits but believed Wozniak could create a design with fewer chips. He asked Wozniak to help, promising to split the payment if Wozniak could reduce the chip count. Wozniak had no sketches and used only the game’s description to design it. He made clever designs to save parts. Near the end, Wozniak thought about moving the high score to the top of the screen, but Jobs said Bushnell wanted it at the bottom. Wozniak did not know if that was true. Wozniak worked at Atari for four nights straight, finishing the design while also working at Hewlett-Packard during the day. He met the deadline, earning a bonus of $5,000, which Jobs kept secret. Wozniak later said he only received $350 and believed Atari had promised $700 for fewer than 50 chips and $1,000 for fewer than 40. Wozniak was the engineer, and Jobs helped build and test the prototype. Wozniak’s first design used 42 chips, but the final version used 44. He said, “We were so tired we couldn’t cut it down.”
Atari faced a problem when they tried to copyright Breakout. The copyright was denied because the game did not have enough original artwork or sound. Atari appealed, and the court ruled that the game could be protected by copyright.
Atari could not use Wozniak’s design because it used too few chips, making it hard to manufacture. The design was too small and complex for Atari’s production methods. Wozniak said Atari might not have understood the design and guessed “maybe some engineer there was trying to make some kind of modification to it.” Atari made their own version for production, which used about 100 TTL chips. Wozniak said the gameplay was the same as his original design and found no differences.
The arcade cabinet has a black-and-white monitor. Colored cellophane strips are placed over the monitor to make the bricks look colorful.
Ports
A version of the game Breakout was created for the Atari 2600 by Brad Stewart. This version was released in 1978 and had six rows of bricks. The player has five chances to clear two walls instead of three. In the Breakthru version of the game, the ball goes through the bricks instead of bouncing off them until it reaches the wall. Atari registered the term "Breakthru" and used it with the name Breakout to describe gameplay in similar games and remakes.
A special Video Pinball console made by Atari in 1977 also included a Breakout game.
Reception
In October 1976, the annual RePlay chart ranked Breakout as the fifth most profitable arcade video game in the United States for 1976. It was listed below Midway Manufacturing’s Sea Wolf, Gun Fight, and Wheels, as well as Atari’s Indy 800. In 1977, Breakout became the third most profitable arcade video game in the United States, ranked below Sea Wolf and Sprint 2. In 1978, it was the fifth most profitable arcade video game in the United States. Atari manufactured 11,000 arcade cabinets for Breakout, which is estimated to have generated over $11 million in sales revenue, or about $62 million when adjusted for inflation.
Breakout was also a successful game for Namco in Japan. On the first annual Game Machine arcade chart, Breakout was the fourth most profitable arcade video game in Japan for 1976, ranked below Taito’s Ball Park (Tornado Baseball) and Speed Race DX, as well as Sega’s Heavyweight Champ. In 1977, Breakout was Japan’s third most profitable arcade game, ranked below only two racing games: Namco’s electro-mechanical game F-1 and Taito’s Speed Race DX. By 1981, Breakout had sold 15,000 arcade units worldwide.
The Atari 2600 version of Breakout sold 256,265 units in 1980. By 1983, Breakout had sold a total of 1,650,336 units worldwide.
In 1989, the magazine Computer and Video Games reviewed the Atari VCS version of Breakout and gave it a score of 24%.
In 2021, The Guardian listed Breakout as the fourth greatest video game of the 1970s, ranked below Galaxian, Asteroids, and Space Invaders.
Legacy
Breakout inspired many similar games. Ten years later, Taito released Arkanoid in 1986, which also led to many copies. In Japan, this type of game is called "block kuzushi," which means "block breaker." Tomohiro Nishikado said Breakout was one of the games that inspired him to create Space Invaders in 1978. He wanted to use the same feeling of accomplishment and tension from breaking targets one by one in a shooting game. Breakout influenced Steve Wozniak’s design for the Apple II computer. He explained: "Many features of the Apple II were added because I had created Breakout for Atari. I designed it using hardware before, and now I wanted to write it using software." This included his design of color graphics, support for game paddles, sound, and graphics commands in Integer BASIC, which he used to create Brick Out, a software copy of his own game. Wozniak said in 1984:
The success of Breakout led to the release of Super Breakout in 1978. This game has three different modes. Later versions for home systems include Breakout as a fourth mode, using the visual style of Super Breakout.
Breakout 2000 for the Atari Jaguar added a 3D playing field and new features.
A 3D game inspired by Breakout was released in 2000 for Windows and PlayStation by Hasbro Interactive’s Atari Interactive division. The game was simply named Breakout.
In 2011, Atari SA released an updated version of Breakout called Breakout Boost.
A redesigned version titled Breakout: Recharged was released on February 10, 2022, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, and Atari VCS as part of the Atari Recharged series. It was developed by Adamvision Studios and SneakyBox.
On March 25, 2025, a new version of Breakout was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows. This version keeps the basic rules of the original game but adds a combo system, power-ups, special abilities, and a multiplayer mode.
Pilgrim in the Microworld is an autobiography by David Sudnow that describes his deep interest in Breakout. Sudnow wrote about studying the game’s mechanics, visiting the company that made it in Silicon Valley, and talking to the programmers.
The first-generation iPod Classic has an Easter egg: pressing and holding the center button for a few seconds in the "About" menu makes Breakout appear.
On the 37th anniversary of Breakout’s release, Google created a hidden version of the game. Users could access it by typing "atari breakout" in Google Images. The image thumbnails formed the Breakout bricks, changed colors, and after a ball and paddle appeared, the game began.