Play Pit-Fighter Online Free for Arcade.
Pit-Fighter hits different when it boots instantly in your browser. Released in 1990 on the Arcade, this retro classic from its publisher is ready the second you press start — no downloads, no setup.
Pit-Fighter is a 1990 fighting game developed and published by Atari Games for arcades. The Japanese release was published by Konami.
You can keep playing Pit-Fighter free in your browser above. Competitive Online is an optional upgrade: the free RetroPlayers.Club Player app runs this fighter with true rollback netcode — lag-hidden, frame-tight online matches against other members.
📱 On mobile, the RetroPlayers.Club Player arrives through the App Store and Google Play — those listings are coming soon. Competitive Online lives on a Windows PC today.
🎮 USB or Bluetooth controller? Plug it in, Once Detected Click Here to Open Your Controller Options
⭐ Premium members can click any key below to remap the controls. Go Premium
| Action | Keyboard | Controller |
|---|---|---|
| D-Pad Up | ↑ | D-Pad up |
| D-Pad Down | ↓ | D-Pad down |
| D-Pad Left | ← | D-Pad left |
| D-Pad Right | → | D-Pad right |
| B (bottom) | X | Bottom face |
| A (right) | Z | Right face |
| Y (left) | S | Left face |
| X (top) | A | Top face |
| L | Q | Left shoulder |
| R | E | Right shoulder |
| Start | Enter | Start |
| Insert Coin | V | Select |
⭐ Premium members can click any key below to remap this game's controls. Go Premium
| Action | Keyboard | Arcade input |
|---|---|---|
| Move | · · · · | Joystick (8-way) |
| Punch | · | Button 1 |
| Kick | · | Button 2 |
| Start / Jump | · | Button 3 |
| Start | · | Start |
| Insert Coin | · | Select |
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The Story Behind Pit-Fighter
Pit-Fighter is in the 2012 compilation Midway Arcade Origins. Several of these characters share the names of the actors who played them: Executioner (John Aguire), Southside Jim (James Thompson), Angel (Angela Stellato), C.C. Rider (Rich Vargas), Mad Miles (Miles McGowan), Heavy Metal (Kim Rhodes), Chainman Eddie (Eddie Venancio) and Masked Warrior (Bill McAleenan).
Pit-Fighter is the second fighting game to use digitized sprites, after Home Data's Reikai Dōshi: Chinese Exorcist. An emulated version of the arcade game is included in 2004's Midway Arcade Treasures 2 for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, and in Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition (2006) for Microsoft Windows. Other non-playable characters include: Knife Woman (Dianne Bertucci), Knife Man (Milt Loper), Finale Woman (Tina Scyrater), Finale Woman (Maria Lenytzkyj), Big Kid In The Crowd (Gabriel Koura) and Crowd (Rob Rowe).
How Pit-Fighter Plays
The gameplay is similar to Taito's Violence Fight and SNK's Street Smart. The crowd can interfere by attacking, dropping usable weapons, or pushing a stray player back into the fight. The player begins by choosing one of the three playable characters, who each have different moves, speeds, and powers.
In a Grudge Match, the player must fight against a CPU controlled clone of the fighter if playing alone, or against the other players in a multiplayer game. Up to three people can play at a time, but there will be extra opponents to fight during any of the game's 15 different matches. The player must punch and kick their opponents until their energy runs out.
Why Players Still Load It Up
Zzap!64 gave the game a more negative review, dubbing it an "anticlimactic beat'em up" and writing that the attract mode was the best part of the game. In February 1993, Your Sinclair gave the ZX Spectrum version a 28% score. The question is 'is the game fun?' and I think the answer in this case is 'no'." Rob and George rated Graphics and Sound with 2.5, Control with 2, Challenge with 2 and Theme and Fun with 2.5.
David Wilson of Computer Gaming World approved of the Amiga version, stating that it "is the arcade game teleported", and concluded that the game "offers the two-player option missing in many fighter games and enough roughhousing to suit the most violent gamer". In North America, it was the top-grossing upright arcade cabinet on the RePlay arcade charts in October 1990, and weekly coin drop earnings averaged $413.75 per arcade unit during November to December 1990. They criticized the limited frames of animation and compared it unfavorably to The Combatribes and Final Fight.
Pit-Fighter — Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a controller to play Pit-Fighter?
No. Keyboard controls work out of the box (see the controls panel), and any USB or Bluetooth gamepad is detected automatically.
Who developed Pit-Fighter?
Development was handled by Atari Games, with its publisher publishing the release.
Where can I buy the original Pit-Fighter?
See the "Other Places You Can Get This Game" section below the article for legitimate places to buy real-world versions.
What console was Pit-Fighter released on?
its publisher shipped Pit-Fighter for the Arcade back in 1990, and this page runs that release.