ToeJam & Earl became popular following the release of their first game for the Sega Genesis in 1991. By Christmas of that year, sales were steady and ToeJam & Earl had become a key Sega franchise, alongside Sonic the Hedgehog.

The follow up ToeJam & Earl: Panic in Funkatron, hit store shelves in the in 1993. This game brought more platforming elements to the gameplay, and it was met with mixed reviews. Overall, it was considered moderately successful.

After waiting out the Sega Saturn's struggles, the years that followed were met by cancellations (N64, and Sega Dreamcast). In 2002, their new game was finally released, entitled ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth, as an Xbox exclusive.

In 2006, the original ToeJam & Earl game was re-released for the Wii's virtual console, and again in 2012 for the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. At one point there was talk of a Nintendo DS remake, but nothing has surfaced.

In September 2013, a never released Sega Dreamcast version of ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth was found on a Sega Development Kit. Sega was asked to approve its release, but no response was ever received. The creators of this series, Greg Johnson and Mark Voorsanger, agreed to a community release. This prototype is now available for download online.

All of these games still enjoy a cult following, and the original game is considered a Sega classic.