Super Breakout was released in arcades in September 1978 as the sequel to Atari, Inc.'s Breakout from 1976. It was written by Ed Rotberg, who later designed Battlezone for Atari. The game uses the same mechanics as Breakout, but allows the selection of three distinct game modes via a knob on the cabinet–two of which include multiple, simultaneous balls in play. Both the original and sequel are in black and white with monitor overlays to add color.