The player must collect the hostages (described in the backstory as "delegates to the United Nations Conference on Peace and Child Rearing") and safely transport them to the nearby U.S.

In the Apple II and Atari 7800 versions, hostages will also die if the helicopter is not landed correctly (i.e., if it is slightly tilted), being crushed as they attempt to board.

Additionally, enemy jet fighters are deployed, which can attack the helicopter in the air with air-to-air missiles or on the ground with bombs.

Coming off a stint working for the Rand Corporation, Dan Gorlin initially developed Choplifter using an Apple II loaned to him by his grandfather.

He noted that, as a story developed, the film camera techniques seemed appropriate, including the final message "The End" instead of "Game Over".

[11] The concept of rescuing hostages was inspired by Gorlin's experience with the game Defender, in which the player must protect people on the ground.

The magazine praised the animation and the helicopter's "subtle flight control" and concluded that seeing the hostages' "hope and excitement, their faith in you" made the game "hard to play".

[11] In 1983, its readers named Choplifter fourth on the magazine's Top Thirty list of Atari 8-bit programs by popularity.

In late 1997, Gorlin and his development team, Ariok Entertainment, were working on a Choplifter game for IBM PC compatibles that would be in 3D and feature multiplayer functionality.

[30][31] inXile Entertainment released Choplifter HD for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Microsoft Windows in January 2012, and for Ouya in August 2013.