It was developed and published by British company Ocean Software, and was released in Europe in 1987, for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum.

[4][5] Short Circuit is based on the film of the same name, in which a weaponized robot, Number 5, is struck by lightning and gains human emotion.

From computers, the player downloads software that allows Number 5 to jump, shoot a laser to stun guards, and search for items that must be used to escape.

Mark Hunter of The Australian Commodore Review stated that the Number 5 character "is identical to the movie representation and moves exactly the same way", while writing that the music "harmonizes perfectly with the excellent movability of the robot along a very fine graphic scroll-scape".

[6] Reviewers for Zzap!64 found it to be a repetitive and average film-based game,[13] while Jim Douglas of Sinclair User called it a "very worthwhile purchase".