Freeware Games

Freeware refers to software that can be used, downloaded, or distributed free of charge.


It does not refer to games under a Free Software license that allow modifying or redistribution of source code. See List of free game software for such games.

Games that are free but suggest a donation or fee, or require purchase for extended play time, new content and other features, are Shareware.

Games

  • 123 Free Solitaire, one of the top stand-alone solitaire downloads on the internet. Yearly editions swap out 4 of the 12 games included. A game option includes being able to change the card-back designs.
  • Abashera is a first person, 3D maze IQ game. [1]
  • America's Army, first-person shooter developed and distributed by US Army [2]
  • Angband (another popular RPG in the roguelike family), and its many variants. The most comprehensive resource for Angband is at http://thangorodrim.net. Source code of Angband is also available, but it is not Free software. However, there is an effort ongoing to re-license Angband under the GNU GPL.
  • BVE, free Railroad Simulator created by Mackoy of Japan.
  • Chromatron is a free laser & mirrors puzzle game [3]
  • CodeRED: Alien Arena, fully functioned free deathmatch shooter that runs on Windows and Linux, and features standard deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, and all out assault, in a funky 50's era sci-fi atmosphere.
  • Control Monger is a free online first person shooter available at http://www.controlmonger.com
  • CrateMaster is a free Tetris clone/parody by Longbow Digital Arts. It was used to promote the game Tread Marks in a high score contest on the Old Man Murray website. Gameplay consists solely of making a row of three crates, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Crate Review System featured on that site.
  • Dance With Intensity clones dance game Dance Dance Revolution
  • DominateGame is an online Risk-like game here - which is technically adware as only the downloadable version is free and puts up adverts for the 25 euro online version
  • Doukutsu Monogatari a.k.a "Cave story" by Studio Pixel. A Metroid style adventure game. [Http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA022293/] and [4]
  • Eastside Hockey Manager, popular hockey manager game that was so good that it got the creator picked up by SI Games in order to make a commercial sequel.
  • Eternal Daughter, a Castlevania-esque adventure game available here.
  • Gate88, an Asteroids RTS game considered one of the best freeware games ever. [5]
  • GunBound, a free Worms like game at http://www.gunbound.net .
  • Knight Online, a free-2-play concept MMORPG.
  • Legends is an Online FPS reminiscent of Tribes [6].
  • Little Fighter 2 is a side-scrolling fighting game available here.
  • MegaZeux is a simple game creation system available here.
  • Mindgames is a collection of card, board and miscellaneous games that are primarily puzzle based and varied in objective. http://www.ihsan.biz/
  • N is a classic platformer game.
  • NetHack is perhaps the most successful roguelike game ever. Another variant, Slash'EM, is also popular.
  • Nexuiz is a 3d deathmatch game with over 20 maps and hundreds of online players
  • Orbiter, a spaceflight simulator with an emphasis on realistic orbital mechanics [7]
  • PlaneShift is a free, open-source MMORPG in development
  • Pong Kombat is a spoof of PONG and Mortal Kombat
  • Progress Quest, a parody of Everquest and the MMORPG genre, focuses on pure character building with no interaction involved.
  • Reality-on-the-norm a bunch of user made adventure games downloadable from [8]
  • RuneScape RuneScape is a free 3D Java based Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG).
  • Simutrans: a game that focuses on building a transportation network and is similar to Transport Tycoon.
  • Smashing Pumpkins into Small Piles of Putrid Debris (SPISPOPD), a 1993 DOS based top down shooter by Jamul software, jokingly based on a Doom newsgroup thread. (archived link)
  • Soldat, a popular 2D multiplayer online shooter[9]
  • Steel Panthers: World at War [10], plus several other remakes of older strategy games from Matrix Games.
  • SPMBT: Steel Panthers Main Battle Tank [11]
  • SPWW2: Steel Panthers World War 2 [12]
  • SubSpace, a two-dimensional top-down space shooter game with massively multiplayer capabilities.
  • Vega Strike, an open-source space combat/trading simulator inspired by Wing Commander: Privateer and Elite.
  • Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, a standalone multiplayer expansion to Return to Castle Wolfenstein. [13]
  • Wurm Online, a fantasy MMORPG. Currently in beta, when released it will be more properly considered shareware.
  • YSFlight, a flight simulator.

Commercial games released as freeware

  • UberWG Software Department - Arkanoid3D.NET
  • Abuse, a 1995 side-scrolling action game by Crack dot Com, released as freeware.
  • Akalabeth a.k.a "Ultima 0" by Lord British.
  • Beneath a Steel Sky by Revolution Software. [14]
  • Castle of the Winds a tile based RPG for Windows 3.x, written by SaadaSoft.
  • Castle Infinity, 1996 release by Starwave.
  • Civil War Strategy Game is a turn-based strategic level wargame based around the American Civil War by W.R. Hutsell.
  • Civil War Battleset is a turn-based tactical level wargame based around the American Civil War by W.R. Hutsell.
  • Decisive Battle of WWII: The Ardennes Offensive, released as freeware by SSG. [15]
  • Derek Smart's infamous Battlecruiser 3000AD. [16]
  • Dink Smallwood, 1997 RPG by RTsoft released as freeware on 17 October 1999. [17]
  • Elite and Elite Plus. [18]
  • Flight of the Amazon Queen by Interactive Binary Illusions. [19]
  • Frederik Pohl's Gateway part 1, adventure game, based on book by same author.
  • GroundControl
  • Hidden and Dangerous Deluxe, a 1999 game by Illusion Softworks. [20]
  • Ken's Labyrinth by Ken Silverman [21]
  • MegaZeux is a game creation system available here.
  • One Must Fall: 2097, (1994) classic fighting game by Diversions Entertaintment.
  • Ports Of Call. [22]
  • Rise of the Dragon, 1990 release by Dynamix.
  • Star Control II, the classic space adventure by Toys for Bob was GPL'ed and renamed as The Ur-Quan Masters. [23]
  • Starsiege: Tribes and Tribes 2 were released as freeware May 2004.[24]
  • The Elder Scrolls: Arena, 1994 game that was released as freeware in 2004.[25]
  • Lord British's Ultima IV
  • Wars of Napoleon is a turn-based strategic and tactical level wargame of the Napoleonic Wars.
  • Wild Metal - [26]
  • World War II in Western Europe is a turn-based strategic level wargame of World War II in Western Europe by W.R. Hutsell.

Games no longer allowed to be distributed

Several commercial games which were distributed for free download years ago are no longer allowed to be distributed.

B-17 Flying Fortress is no longer legal to download.

The Sierra games Betrayal at Krondor, Red Baron 3D & Caesar are also not legal to download.

This has been proven at Liberated Games FAQ

The Zork games are no longer allowed to be distributed for free. Activision doesn't want them distributed anymore. They forced CNET to remove the games from their page at http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6464_7-6300449-1.html . This was also reported at Liberated Games.

See also

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