Sky Patrol

About

Sky Patrol is an arcade shooter from Imagic originally built for the Atari 2600. You pilot a plane across a massive map that stretches two screens high and twenty-seven wide. The goal is simple enough but requires steady hands as you navigate through enemy fire or race against another player in the local multiplayer mode. Developer Brad Stewart drew inspiration from his college days working with hot air balloon crews, though the final product features vintage biplanes instead of balloons. This title never saw a real release despite being nearly finished and shown at Winter CES in 1983. It remains a curious piece of gaming history that sits alongside other unreleased Atari classics. While we cannot confirm community ratings for this specific title since it was never sold, collectors often hunt down prototypes to see what the game could have been. The sheer size of the playfield stands out as unusual for the hardware at the time. It serves as a reminder of the many projects that got cut before hitting store shelves during that era.