The screenplay, written by William Harrison,[8] adapted his own short story "Roller Ball Murder", which had first appeared in the September 1973 issue of Esquire.

The semi-final match between Houston and Tokyo is played with no penalties and limited substitutions in the hope Jonathan will be injured and forced out.

The brutality of the match kills several players and leaves Jonathan's best friend and teammate Moonpie in a coma, though Houston wins the game.

In a teleconference, the Executive Committee decides that the final match will be played with no penalties, no substitutions, and no time limit in the hope that Jonathan will be killed during the game.

Jonathan makes his way to Geneva to access the world's repository of all human knowledge, a central supercomputer known as "Zero," only to find its memory corrupted.

Refusing to kill his fallen opponent, Jonathan gets to his feet and makes his way to the goal, slamming the ball home and scoring the game's only point.

Jonathan then takes a victory lap as the crowd chants his name, first softly, then slowly rising to a roar while Mr. Bartholomew hastily exits the stands.

Recognizing their contribution to the film's many crucial action sequences, Rollerball was the first major Hollywood production to give screen credit to its stunt performers.

[15] Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor is performed on organ by Simon Preston during the opening title sequence and again at the final scene, bookending the film.

"[24] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety, wrote that it "packs an emotional and intellectual wallop" and that James Caan gave an "excellent performance".

In its portraying of the vast and essentially stateless multinational corporations, Rollerball plays off developments which have come since Huxley's and Orwell's time.

"[25] The Hollywood Reporter claimed that it was “the most original, and imaginative and technically proficient peek into our future since 2001: A Space Odyssey.”[22] Jonathan Rosenbaum of The Monthly Film Bulletin panned Rollerball as "A classic demonstration of how several millions of dollars can be unenjoyably wasted ... this glib fable seems to be aiming at a simplified version of A Clockwork Orange without any intimations of wit or satire to carry the vague moralistic message.

"[27] TV Guide gave the film three out of four stars; it said "the performances of Caan and Richardson are excellent, and the rollerball sequences are fast-paced and interesting.

"[28] Jay Cocks of Time said Caan looked "unconvinced and uncomfortable" as Jonathan E.[29] Filmink said the film "launched the dystopian sports movie genre and a series of rip-offs (Death Race 2000, etc) – most of which, to be frank, were a lot more fun than Rollerball, which could have stood to be a little less important and a little trashier.

Rollerball: The Video Game was slated to be released for PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo 64 on the first quarter of 1998, but was delayed to mid-1998[33] and then was canceled due to the publisher, MGM Interactive, going bankrupt.