Is the Space Invaders screensaver free?

Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download, install, or account. The game starts as soon as the page loads.

Can I play Space Invaders myself or does it auto-play?

Both. The default Auto-play mode lets an AI play, while Manual mode lets you steer with the left and right arrow keys and fire with the Space bar.

How do I exit the Space Invaders screensaver?

Press the ESC key to exit at any time and return to the page.

Do the waves get harder?

Yes. The swarm steps faster as you clear aliens, and each new wave spawns at a higher tempo, so the difficulty keeps rising.

Are there bunkers and a UFO like the arcade game?

Yes. Four destructible bunkers erode as they take fire, and a mystery UFO worth a random bonus periodically crosses the top of the screen.

Why did the aliens speed up in the original?

The processor rendered frames faster when fewer aliens were left, so the survivors moved more quickly. The designer kept the effect because it increased the tension.

Was the original game in colour?

The original hardware was black and white, with transparent coloured cellophane strips over the screen. Later versions added a colour monitor with an electronically generated overlay.

Who made Space Invaders?

Tomohiro Nishikado, working at the Japanese company Taito, designed and programmed it. It was released in Japan in July 1978.

Space Invaders Screensaver

Space Invaders is a free, in-browser recreation of the arcade classic that plays itself with a built-in AI, or that you can play with the ← → arrow keys and Space. It serves up endless waves at a rising tempo with no download or install. Press ESC to exit.

How the Space Invaders screensaver works

A grid of 5 rows by 11 columns of aliens — squid, crab, and octopus sprites drawn pixel by pixel — marches sideways in lockstep, stepping down and reversing direction each time the formation reaches a screen edge. The fewer aliens left alive, the shorter the step interval, so the swarm visibly speeds up as you clear it.

In Auto-play mode (the default) an AI drives the cannon: it dodges incoming bombs by sidestepping, fires at the lowest alien in line, and prioritizes the bonus UFO that occasionally crosses the top. In Manual mode you steer with the arrow keys and fire with Space.

Four destructible bunkers sit above the cannon as pixel grids that erode where shots strike — both your fire and alien bombs chew holes into them. Aliens drop bombs from the lowest occupant of a random column, and clearing a wave spawns the next one faster, raising the difficulty.

The scene reproduces the arcade HUD — SCORE, HI-SCORE, the remaining-lives row, and the base line — and a mystery UFO worth a random bonus streaks across the top, all tinted in your chosen color over your background.

Inside a 1978 arcade milestone

Space Invaders was designed by Tomohiro Nishikado at Taito in Japan and released there in July 1978. Nishikado worked largely alone, building custom hardware around an Intel 8080 processor. Accounts of its influences include Atari's Breakout, which Space Invaders built on by making the targets move and fire back, and H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, which inspired the alien designs. The game was a huge arcade hit and is widely credited with turning video games into a global industry.

Part of its legend is an accident. The processor drew each frame faster when fewer aliens were on screen, so the survivors moved faster as the player shot them. Rather than compensate for the effect, Nishikado kept it as a gameplay mechanism, and it became the signature rising tension of the game.

The original arcade hardware produced black-and-white graphics, and strips of transparent orange and green cellophane over parts of the screen added colour. Later versions used colour monitors with an electronically generated overlay. The sprites are among the most recognised images in gaming. This saver is a tribute and not the original game, and Space Invaders is a trademark of its rights holders.

A worked example

With the defaults — mode Auto-play, speed 5, color #39ff5b on background #04060a — a green AI cannon clears wave after wave, sheltering behind eroding bunkers and picking off the UFO, with the swarm accelerating as it thins. Switch to Manual to take the cannon yourself with the arrow keys and Space, or raise Speed to 10 for a frantic pace.

Settings & tips

Set Mode to Auto-play to watch the AI clear endless waves, or Manual to play it yourself with ← → and Space.
Use the Speed slider (1–10) to dial the overall march and fire tempo from leisurely to frantic.
Recolor the aliens, cannon, and bunkers with the Color picker and set the Background for a phosphor-arcade look.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Space Invaders screensaver free?: Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download, install, or account. The game starts as soon as the page loads.
Can I play Space Invaders myself or does it auto-play?: Both. The default Auto-play mode lets an AI play, while Manual mode lets you steer with the left and right arrow keys and fire with the Space bar.
How do I exit the Space Invaders screensaver?: Press the ESC key to exit at any time and return to the page.
Do the waves get harder?: Yes. The swarm steps faster as you clear aliens, and each new wave spawns at a higher tempo, so the difficulty keeps rising.
Are there bunkers and a UFO like the arcade game?: Yes. Four destructible bunkers erode as they take fire, and a mystery UFO worth a random bonus periodically crosses the top of the screen.
Why did the aliens speed up in the original?: The processor rendered frames faster when fewer aliens were left, so the survivors moved more quickly. The designer kept the effect because it increased the tension.
Was the original game in colour?: The original hardware was black and white, with transparent coloured cellophane strips over the screen. Later versions added a colour monitor with an electronically generated overlay.
Who made Space Invaders?: Tomohiro Nishikado, working at the Japanese company Taito, designed and programmed it. It was released in Japan in July 1978.

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