"Tank" was designed by Steve Bristow, who had previously worked with the founders of Atari on "Computer Space", the first arcade video game, and was developed by Lyle Rains. It was created as part of Bristow's vision to move the company away from only producing copies of Atari's games into also developing original titles. The game's cabinet was designed by Peter Takaichi. In September 1974, Atari announced a merger with Kee, which went into effect a month after the release of the game. The game was commercially successful, selling over 10,000 units and buoying Atari's then-troubled finances. It led to a cocktail cabinet release of the game and to four sequels: "Tank II" (1974), "Tank III" (1975), "Tank 8" (1976), and "Ultra Tank" (1978). A dedicated console version of "Tank II" was announced in 1977 but cancelled later that year; the joysticks for the game, however, became the standard joystick controllers for the Atari 2600 (1977). Variations on the game were included in the Atari 2600 game "Combat", as well as in the Coleco Telstar game "Telstar Combat!", both in 1977.