to turn the in-game characters. Because of these difficulties, Logg was unsure if the game would enter mass production. Originally Logg envisioned the game as a second sequel to Gauntlet titled Gauntlet III: Catacombs. However, the marketing department at Atari Games did not want to make another Gauntlet game and made him change the title. Logg and co-programmer Bob Flanagan eventually settled on a theme based on Major Havoc, a previous Atari arcade game. Reception Upon release, the game was positively reviewed. It drew favorable comparisons to both Berzerk and Gauntlet for its maze-like stages and shooting gameplay. The game's various features, including the cooperative gameplay, were praised, with Computer and Video Games and The Games Machine citing them as aspects that made the game addictive. Commodore User also cited the two-player game as a highlight, saying "its real appeal is as a team game, with you and your mate running about the place, covering each other, dividing up and destroying all the robots in the maze, and lending one another gold coins in the shop." Ed Logg recalled in 2005 that the game was not a financial success. GamesTM wrote that "Xybots was overlooked in arcades due to its complex controls and tricky gameplay" and that its lack of earnings in arcades was the reason no sequel was ever developed. In retrospect, they wrote that the game was "ahead of its time" and "offered a unique experience that similar games of the era were unable to match." Ports In 1989 Xybots was ported to MSX, Commodore 64, Amstrad, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and Amiga. In 1991, the Atari Games subsidiary Tengen released a version of the game for the handheld Atari Lynx, developed by the Chicago-based NuFX. A version for the Sega Genesis by Tengen had been announced at the 1990 Winter Consumer Electronics Show alongside ports of the Atari Games titles Paperboy and Hard Drivin', but while the latter two games were released for the system, Xybots was not. A planned Nintendo Entertainment System port from Tengen also went unreleased. Legacy Having acquired the rights to the Atari Games arcade library through its parent company Williams, Midway released the arcade version of Xybots as part of the 2004 console compilation Midway Arcade Treasures 2, as well as Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition for Microsoft Windows. The arcade version also saw release on the PSP as part of Midway