When Was the First Video Arcade Game Released?

The first commercially successful and influential video arcade game was Computer Space, released in 1971 by Nutting Associates.

While earlier experimental games like Tennis for Two (1958) and Spacewar! (1962) existed, they ran on specialized hardware in research labs and were not mass-produced for public venues.

Computer Space, created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was the first coin-operated video game to be manufactured in quantity and placed in arcades, bars, and bowling alleys. Though it was not a massive commercial hit due to its complexity, it directly paved the way for the founding of Atari and the release of Pong in 1972, which launched the video game industry into the mainstream.