Elon Musk’s Ranking in Diablo IV is Cool But Many Gamers Still Don’t Know About the Video Game He Created When He Was Only 12

Elon Musk’s prominence as a tech mogul and innovator often overshadows his remarkable gaming achievements. Recently, Musk earned recognition as one of the top 20 players globally in Diablo IV, impressing fans with his skills and commitment to gaming. You may have already known about his passion for gaming though.

But few people know about his first project in video game development, which began when he was just 12 years old. As a kid, Musk created a simple space shooter game called Blastar. From such an age, he laid the groundwork for his future in technology.

Elon Musk Has Always Been A Gamer Since Childhood

According to Ashlee Vance’s biography of Musk (via The Verge), he created Blastar, a space-themed game back in 1984, while living in South Africa. The game is an interesting showcase of his early interest in coding and space.

In 1984, 12-year-old Elon Musk made a video game called Blastar.pic.twitter.com/kQYdb7Jbm3

— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) February 25, 2020

Inspired by popular arcade games like Space Invaders, the game featured a lone spaceship fighting against alien enemies. The game required players to dodge bombs and laser beams while clearing enemies off the screen. While it was a simple creation compared to modern games, it was an impressive feat for a 12-year-old, who eventually sold the code to a magazine for $500.

Blastar didn’t gain much attention at first, quietly fading into obscurity after its publication. However, in 2015, Ashlee Vance’s biography of Musk, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, brought the game back into the public eye. The book included a reproduction of the game’s source code.

Posts from the elonmusk
community on Reddit

This caught the eye of Tomas Lloret Llinares, a Google software engineer. Lloret took it upon himself to modernize Musk’s original code, transforming it into an HTML5 game that anyone with internet access could play, giving Blastar a second life. You can play it here.

Elon Musk’s Forgotten Career In Video Games Development
byu/Me_you_who ingamedev

In addition to Blastar, Musk’s early career featured a short stint with a company called Rocket Science Games, where he contributed to game titles in the 1990s. Musk’s work there was limited to low-level code and took a back seat to his primary job at the Pinnacle Research Institute.

His Massive Empire Hasn’t Stopped His Passion for Gaming One Bit

Fast forward to 2024, and Musk’s recent achievement in Diablo IV has gotten more eyes on his passion for games. According to him, he is one of two Americans to be in the top 20 worldwide ranking for the game.

🚨ELON MUSK ON VIDEO GAMES

“I’m in the top 20 in the world in Diablo IV. I’m listed with my actual name on the list. There’s only two Americans in the top 20, and I’m one of them.”

“If I play a video game on extreme difficulty, I have to concentrate fully on the game and it has… pic.twitter.com/I8EWbN3L3r

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) November 4, 2024

Musk recently mentioned how playing games helps him “clean the mind” and manage the stress that comes with work. He suggested that games can be a mental reset and offer an escape from work pressures.

His accomplishments as both a tech entrepreneur and a competitive gamer reveal how these different sides of his personality coexist. Just as he’s pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in technology, Musk is also challenging himself in his passion for games.

Though simplistic by today’s standards, his childhood efforts show the origins of a visionary who still makes an impact on multiple industries. By sharing his hobby so publicly, Musk is redefining what it means to be a tech billionaire, showing that even someone at the top can take time to unwind.

What do you think of Elon’s history with gaming? Let us know in the comments!