What was the first licensed Star Wars video game, published for Atari 2600 in 1982?

The first licensed Star Wars video game was Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, published for the Atari 2600 in 1982.

Parker Brothers created the game as a scrolling shooter based on the 1980 film. The player controls Luke Skywalker in a snowspeeder during the Battle of Hoth, trying to stop Imperial AT-AT walkers before they destroy the Rebel power generator at Echo Base.

The game was released for the Atari 2600 in July 1982 and later received an Intellivision version in August 1983. It predates LucasArts, which was established later and became strongly associated with Star Wars games during the 1990s and 2000s.

Several nearby titles cause confusion. Atari’s arcade Star Wars arrived in 1983, while Return of the Jedi: Death Star Battle and Jedi Arena were also Atari-era releases from 1983. Those games came after Parker Brothers’ Hoth-themed cartridge, making The Empire Strikes Back the correct answer for this milestone.