Designed by Ed Logg, it was originally conceived as a sequel to his previous title, Gauntlet.

Despite this, it was met with limited financial success, which has been attributed to its unique control scheme that involves rotating the joystick to turn the player character.

[3] The player can also purchase power-ups at these shops, including extra armor, increased speed, strength and firepower along with maze and enemy maps.

Logg and co-programmer Bob Flanagan eventually settled on a theme based on Major Havoc, a previous Atari arcade game.

It drew favorable comparisons to both Berzerk and Gauntlet for its maze-like stages and shooting gameplay.

[4][5] Commodore User also cited the two-player game as a highlight, saying "its real appeal is as a team game, with you and your mate running about the place, covering each other, dividing up and destroying all the robots in the maze, and lending one another gold coins in the shop.

"[6] In 1989 Xybots was ported to MSX, Commodore 64, Amstrad, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and Amiga.