On the App Store Game · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV & Apple Watch

XGalagaThe 1998 arcade classic, on every Apple screen.

A faithful Swift and SpriteKit port of Joe Rumsey’s X11 shooter. The original alien paths, the original sounds and the original 16-direction movement, driven by one shared engine on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch.

Download on the App Store See the screens

17 alien types 15 hand-crafted levels Apple Watch app included No ads · No IAP · No tracking

XGalaga on iPhone: a full alien convoy in formation above the player's ship

17alien types, 16 sprite frames each

15levels, then a harder loop

16compass directions, as in the C source

60fps, retimed from the original 30

5Apple platforms, one engine

0ads, in-app purchases or trackers

The tour

Just as you remember it

Eight screens from the iPhone version. Swipe or use the arrows, and tap any screen to enlarge it.

Alien convoy in formation — The convoyRows of aliens waiting to dive

Aliens entering in a column along a scripted path — The entranceAliens arrive along scripted paths

A line of aliens peeling off the convoy — The divePeel off, attack, return

A mixed formation of alien types with a bonus pickup falling — Mixed formationsTougher tiers are worth more

Yellow and red aliens swooping towards the ship, which fires three shots — New attackersSeventeen alien types to learn

Bonuses screen listing torpedo, spread fire, speed, shield, smart bomb and more — BonusesCatch the capsules as they fall

New high score screen with three-letter name entry — High scoresThree letters, arcade style

Options screen: sound, auto fire, lives, control and bonuses — OptionsSound, auto-fire, lives, controls

Faithful to the source

Movement taken straight from the C code

XGalaga’s aliens never moved like anything else, and that feel is the point. The port reuses the original 16-direction compass system, so every entrance, loop and dive traces the same path it did on an X11 desktop in 1998.

17 alien types, each with 16 directional sprite frames
Aliens enter along scripted paths, form a convoy, dive-bomb and return to their place
Original timing converted from 30 to 60 frames per second, so it plays at the same pace, only smoother
The 8 original sound samples

Power-ups

Catch the capsule, change the fight

Bonus capsules tumble down the screen during play. Fly into one to power up your ship, which can turn a hopeless wave into a clean sweep.

Power-ups including double, triple and spread fire, an extra bullet and machine fire
A shield, a speed boost, an extra life and a smart bomb
Bonus points, or switch bonuses off entirely for the purist’s game

Scoring

One more go for the table

Aliens score 500, 1,000, 2,000 or 4,000 points depending on their tier. Fifteen hand-crafted levels lead into a loop that keeps getting harder, and a strong run earns you a place on the high score table with an arcade-style three-letter name.

Quick sessions that suit a spare minute
Sound, auto-fire, lives (3 to 5), control mode and bonuses, all remembered between games
No account and no login: open it and play

iPad

A taller sky to defend

On iPad the playfield opens up in portrait, with more room to read the convoy and dodge the dives.

A column of aliens entering on iPad — Entrance Single file

An alien exploding with a 500-point score on iPad — Convoy 500 points

Bonuses screen on iPad — Bonuses Know your capsules

Game over with aliens snaking across the screen on iPad — Game over Try again

Platforms & controls

One engine, five screens

The same game runs everywhere, with controls suited to each device. One purchase covers iPhone and iPad, and the Apple Watch app is included.

iOS

iPhone & iPad

Touch and drag to move. Arrow keys and space also work with a keyboard. Turn on auto-fire for one-handed play.

Apple Watch

Drag or turn the Digital Crown to steer, tap to fire, and double-tap for auto-fire. A full game on your wrist.

Apple TV

Play from the sofa with the Siri Remote or a game controller.

Mac

The same shared engine and the same game, on your desktop.

Also on Wear OS

XGalaga for Android smartwatches

A separate edition designed for round Wear OS displays, including Samsung Galaxy Watch models. Steer with taps, a press-and-hold, or by rotating the bezel, with auto-fire on by default. Requires Android 14 or later.

XGalaga WearOS on Google Play

Origins

From an X11 desktop to your wrist

Joe Rumsey’s XGalaga was written for X11 in the 1990s. This port rebuilds it in Swift and SpriteKit while keeping the parts that made it play the way it did, and is released under the same GNU GPL v2 licence as the original.

Read the source

Alien paths, convoy behaviour and the 16-direction compass come from the original C code rather than being re-imagined.

Keep the sound

The eight original sound samples are carried across, so every shot and explosion sounds right.

Retime for 60 fps

Timings written for 30 frames per second are converted so the game keeps its pace at twice the frame rate.

Share one engine

A single engine drives every platform, with input tuned for touch, the Digital Crown, the Siri Remote and controllers.

Want the remake?

XGalaga HD

XGalaga HD is the later ground-up remake, where every sprite is rendered on device. If you want the original as it was, stay here. If you want to see where it went next, take a look.

Explore XGalaga HD

At a glance

The details

Devices: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch
Price: $1.99, universal purchase on iOS
Age rating: 4+
Version: 1.1
Released: 3 March 2026
Business model: No ads, no in-app purchases
Privacy: No tracking, no account, no data collected
Licence: GNU GPL v2, like the original

On the App Store

Insert coin. Well, $1.99.

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch. No ads, no in-app purchases, no tracking, no account.

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