Missile Command was released in arcades in 1980 as well as on the Atari 2600

Missile Command was released in arcades in 1980 as well as on the Atari 2600. Just two years later a high score was set that hasn’t been bettered in the last 31 years. However, over the weekend, one dedicated player finally managed to beat it.

The 1982 record was set by Victor Ali who played the arcade version for 56 hours and set a score of 80,364,995. The reason it has stood so long is probably down to the time required to even get close to such a score. Who has 56 hours to spare?

Yesterday, another Victor, Victor Sandberg from Sweden, live streamed a single coin game of Missile Command that lasted 56 hours, 5 minutes, and 53 seconds. While not obliterating the record, he most certainly beat it by posting a final score of 81,796,035.

Will it be another 30 years before that record falls? I doubt it. This record has certainly drawn a lot of interest and it’s likely more people will attempt to beat it now if they have access to a Missile Command arcade board. Anyone who wants their record to stand for any length of time needs to game for a lot longer and maybe break the 100,000,000 points barrier if that’s even possible.