This is a list of some of the most popular freeware and free and open-source software first-person shooter games.
Title | Developer | Release date | Last update | Operating system | Engine | License | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Action Quake 2 | The Action Team | 1998 | 2003 | Linux, Windows | id Tech 2 | Freeware | Team and Deathmatch based very fast FPS |
AssaultCube | Rabid Viper Productions | 2006 | 2022-04-01 (1.3.0.2) | Linux, Mac OS, Windows, Android | Cube Engine | zlib License (code), Individual licenses (media) | Realistic environments, fast arcade game play, many game modes. Single/Multiplayer. |
AssaultCube Reloaded (ACR) | AssaultCube Reloaded Task Force | 2010 | 2021 | Linux, Mac OS (requires manual compilation), Windows | Improves AssaultCube. Single/Multiplayer. | ||
Black Shades | Wolfire games | 2001 | Linux, OS X, Windows, Mac OS, iOS | Wolfire Games | Freeware | Free First-person shooter | |
BZFlag | Chris Schoeneman, Tim Riker | 1993 | 2022-03-08 (2.4.24) | Linux, BSD, OS X, Windows, other UNIX | GNU LGPL | Tank combat | |
Chub Gam 3D: Director's Cut | ChubGamSoft | 1998 | MS-DOS | Pie in the Sky | Freeware | Surreal horror single player game | |
CodeRED: Alien Arena | COR Entertainment, LLC | 2004-11 | 2011-12-29 (7.53) | Linux, BSD, OS X, Windows | CRX Engine | GNU GPL (code), Proprietary license (media) | Science fiction, with single or multiplayer modes. |
Cube | Wouter van Oortmerssen | 2001 | 2005-08-29 | Linux, BSD, Mac OS, Windows | Cube Engine | zlib License (code), Individual licenses (media) | Quake style multiplayer deathmatch. Single/Multiplayer. |
Cube 2: Sauerbraten | Wouter van Oortmerssen | 2004 | 2020-11-30 | Linux, BSD, OS X, Windows | Cube 2 Engine | zlib License (code), Individual licenses (media) | Quake style deathmatch, includes built in level editor. Single/Multiplayer. |
The Dark Mod | Team Dark Mod | 2009 | 2015-02-08 (2.03) | Windows | id Tech 4 engine | CC-BY-NC-SA | First person stealth game in the style of the Thief series games (1 and 2) using a modified Id Tech 4 engine |
Fallen Empire: Legions | GarageGames, InstantAction | 2009-06-30 | 2013-06-27 | Windows | Torque Game Engine | Proprietary license | First-Person Shooter with Jetpacks, Multiplayer, CTF, Deathmatch |
Freedoom | Freedoom project | 2019-10-22 (0.12.1) | Linux, OS X, Windows, Android, Mac OS, MS-DOS, others | Doom engine | GNU GPL (code), BSD (media) | A Doom WAD file intended to be used instead of the copyrighted file from the original Doom and Doom II. | |
The Glorious Mission | Giant Interactive Group | 2013-06-20 | Windows | Proprietary license | Online multiplayer. Developed with the People's Liberation Army of China for use as a recruitment and training tool. | ||
Gore: Special Edition | 4D Rulers | 2008-07-04 | Windows | AMP engine | Proprietary license | ||
Hidden & Dangerous | Illusion Softworks, Take-Two Interactive | 1999-07-29 | 2001-11 | Windows | Insanity Engine | Proprietary license | |
.kkrieger | .theprodukkt | 2004 | Windows | Proprietary license | Won first place in the 96k game competition at Breakpoint in April 2004. | ||
Kuma\War | Kuma Reality Games | 2004 | 2006-07 | Windows | Source engine | Proprietary license | Tactical episodic shooter. Single/Multiplayer. |
Marathon | Bungie | 1994-12-21 | 2007 | Mac OS (original), ported to Linux, OS X and Windows via AlephOne | Aleph One | GNU GPL (code) | Released as freeware and source code. |
Nexuiz | Alientrap | 2005-05-31 | 2009-10-01 (2.5.2) | Linux, OS X (10.4 or later), Windows | DarkPlaces Quake engine | GNU GPL | Unreal Tournament style deathmatch. Single/Multiplayer. |
OpenArena | OpenArena team | 2005-08-19 | 2012-02-20 (0.8.8) | Linux, OS X, Windows | ioquake3 id Tech 3 | GNU GPL | Free software content remake of Quake III Arena. Single/Multiplayer |
OpenSpades | YVT | 2019-01-04 (0.1.3) | Linux, OS X, Windows | GNU GPL | Based on Ace of Spades 0.75 | ||
Point Blank | Zepetto, NCSOFT | 2008-03 | Windows | N/A | Proprietary license | Free FPS created by Zepetto in 2009. Close Beta version. | |
Red Eclipse | Quinton Reeves, Lee Salzman | 2011-03-15 | 2019-12-19 (2.0.0) | Linux, BSD, OS X, Windows | Cube 2 Engine / Tesseract | zlib License | New take on the first person arena shooter, featuring parkour, impulse boosts, and more. |
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. build 1935 | GSC Game World | 2009-02 | Windows | xrCore build 1935 | Proprietary license | 2004 Alpha build of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl . Contains content and features cut from the final release. Has a number of bugs but contains a full, playable single player campaign. | |
Savage: The Battle for Newerth | S2 Games | 2003-09-09 | Linux, OS X (commercial), Windows | Silverback Engine | Proprietary license | Hybrid FPS/RTS with both ranged and melee combat | |
Savage 2: A Tortured Soul | S2 Games | 2008-01-16 | Linux, OS X, Windows (commercial) | K2 Engine | Proprietary license | The sequel to the award-winning game, Savage: The Battle for Newerth. | |
Smokin' Guns | Smokin' Guns Productions and Iron Claw Interactive | 2009-01-01 | 2012-06-08 | Linux, BSD, OS X, Windows, others | ioquake3 id Tech 3 | GNU GPL (code/some media) Proprietary license (some media) | Western Quake-like FPS. Single (with bots)/Multiplayer. |
Starsiege: Tribes | Dynamix, Sierra Entertainment | 2004 (free release) | Windows | Darkstar engine | Proprietary license | Futuristic team based combat, released for free to promote Tribes: Vengeance . Multiplayer only. | |
The DinoHunters | Kuma Games | 2006-04-24 | Windows | Source engine | Proprietary license | Also a machinima series. Single/Multiplayer. | |
Tremulous | Dark Legion Development | 2006-03-31 | 2009-12-04 (preview release) | Linux, OS X (unofficial), Windows | ioquake3 id Tech 3 | GNU GPL | Aliens vs Humans multiplayer team combat with some RTS elements. |
Tribes 2 | Dynamix, Sierra Entertainment | 2004 (free release) | Windows | Torque Game Engine | Proprietary License | Futuristic team based combat, released for free to promote Tribes: Vengeance . Single/Multiplayer. | |
UberStrike | Cmune Ltd. | 2008 | 2015-06-17 | OS X, Windows | Unity | Proprietary license | Free-to-play "social shooter" on Facebook, MySpace and Apple's Dashboard Widgets. |
Unreal Tournament | Epic Games | TBA | 2015-03-09 | Linux, OS X, Windows | Unreal Engine 4 | Proprietary license | Crowdsourced and free first-person shooter. |
Unvanquished [1] | Unvanquished Development | 2012-02-29 | 2021-06-21 (Alpha 0.52.1) | Linux, OS X, Windows | modified ioquake3 | CC BY-SA 2.5/GPL | Fork of Tremulous with new assets |
Urban Terror | Silicon Ice Development / Frozen Sand | 2000-08-05 (Beta 1.0) | 2018-06-21 (4.3.4) | Linux, OS X, Windows | ioquake3 id Tech 3 | GNU GPL (ioquake3 engine), Proprietary license (mod code, media) | Fast-paced, Hollywood tactical shooter. Originally a Quake 3 mod, now a standalone game. |
Warmonger: Operation Downtown Destruction | NetDevil | 2007-11-28 | 2009-08-27 | Windows | Unreal Engine 3 | GNU GPL (code), Proprietary license (media) | High-end Free-to-play first person shooter with destructible environments.. |
Warsow | Warsow team | 2005-06-08 | 2016-04-14 (2.1) | Linux, OS X, Windows | Qfusion id Tech 2 | GNU GPL (code), Proprietary license (media) | Quake style deathmatch focussed on high-paced action and trickjumps. |
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory | Activision, id Software, Splash Damage | 2003-05-29 | 2015-08-21 (ET:Legacy 2.74) | Linux, OS X, Windows | id Tech 3, ET:Legacy | GNU GPL (code), Proprietary license (media) | Intended expansion pack turned freeware. WW2 multiplayer team combat |
World of Padman | Padworld Entertainment | 2007-04-01 | 2011-07-16 (1.5.4 beta Windows/Linux), 2011-01-24 (1.5.1 OS X) | Linux, OS X, Windows | ioquake3 id Tech 3 | GNU GPL (code), Proprietary license (media) | A free Quake 3 like comical FPS game |
Xonotic | Team Xonotic | 2010-12-23 | 2022-06-30 (0.8.5) | Linux, OS X, Windows | DarkPlaces Quake engine | GNU GPL | Fork and direct successor of the Nexuiz Project. |
Team Fortress 2 | Valve | 2007-10-7 | 2019-3-28 | Windows, Mac OS, Linux. | Source | Proprietary license | Also available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, formerly pay to play, sequel to Team Fortress Classic. |
Some free-to-play online first-person shooters use a client–server model, in which only the client is available for free. They may be associated with business models such as optional microtransactions or in-game advertising. Some of these may be MMOFPS, MMOTPS or MMORPG games.
Title | Developer, Publisher | Release date | Operating system | Engine | License | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blacklight: Retribution | Zombie Studios | 2012-04-03 | Windows | Unreal Engine 3 | Proprietary license | Online multiplayer, futuristic setting. |
Crossfire | Z8Games | 2006 | Windows | Lithtech Jupiter | Freeware | Modern team-based shooter. Many game modes. |
Mission Against Terror | Kingsoft Dalian JingCai Studio, Wicked Interactive / Suba Games | 2012 | Windows | Proprietary license | Free-to-play online fps, developed by KingSoft, published by Wicked Interactive / Suba Games. | |
Fallen Earth | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Online multiplayer [2] |
Heroes and Generals | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Online multiplayer [2] |
War Rock | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Online multiplayer, features controllable vehicles |
Combat Arms | Nexon | 2008-07-11 | Windows | Lithtech | Proprietary license | Online multiplayer, modern setting; microtransaction business model. |
CrimeCraft | Vogster Entertainment | 2009-08 | Windows | Unreal Engine 3 | Proprietary license | Massively multiplayer online with 3rd and 1st-person perspectives; microtransaction business model. |
PlanetSide 2 | Daybreak Game Company | 2012-11-20 | Windows | ForgeLight | Proprietary license | Massive battles with 2000 players per continent at a time. 3 factions fighting over 4 continents. Player customization, microtransaction business model. |
Sudden Attack | Nexon | 2005-4-11 | Windows | Lithtech | Proprietary license | Online multiplayer |
Tribes: Ascend | Hi-Rez Studios | 2011-12 | Windows | Unreal Engine 3 (modified) | Proprietary license | Online multiplayer; microtransaction business model. |
Engine | Developer, Publisher | Release date | Linux | OS X | Windows | other | License | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aleph One | Bungie (originally) | 2000-01-17 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mac OS, BSDs | GPL-3.0-or-later | Aleph One is an open-source project based on the Marathon 2: Durandal code, which was released to the public by Bungie. |
Build engine | Ken Silverman/3D Realms | 2000-06-20 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[ which? ] | Custom licence, GNU General Public License | First released by Silverman; 3D Realms later did GPL releases of Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior |
Cube Engine | Wouter van Oortmerssen | 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android [3] | zlib License (code), Individual licenses (media) | FPS with sandbox style level-editor |
Cube 2 Engine | Wouter van Oortmerssen | 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | zlib License (code), Individual licenses (media) | FPS with sandbox style level-editor |
Dim3 | Brian Barnes | No | Yes | Yes | No | MIT License | Development set | |
id Tech 0 | id Software | 1995 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | GPL-2.0-or-later | Wolfenstein 3D. Also available from Blake Stone: Planet Strike source release; earlier versions in Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3-D source releases, and further developed in Rise of the Triad source release |
id Tech 1 | id Software | 1999-10-03 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | GPL-2.0-or-later | Known as the Doom engine, originally used for Doom, Doom II, and clones. Heretic and Hexen. |
id Tech 2 | id Software | 1999-12-21 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | GPL-2.0-or-later | Quake, Hexen II, DarkPlaces is an open source derivative. |
id Tech 2.5 | id Software | 2001-12-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | GPL-2.0-or-later | Quake 2, CRX and Qfusion are open-source derivatives |
id Tech 3 | id Software | 2005-08-19 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[ which? ] | GPL-2.0-or-later | Quake 3, ioquake3 is an open-source derivative |
id Tech 3.5 | id Software | 2010-08-12 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[ which? ] | GPL-3.0-or-later | Return to Castle Wolfenstein, iortcw is an open-source derivative |
id Tech 4 | id Software | 2011-11-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[ which? ] | GPL-3.0-or-later | Doom 3 |
id Tech 4.5 | id Software | 2012-11-26 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[ which? ] | GPL-3.0-or-later | Doom 3: BFG Edition |
Torque Game Engine | GarageGames | 2012-09-20 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | MIT License | |
Unity | Unity Technologies | 2009 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Purchasable license for commercial use, iPhone license, Free indie license | Development set |
Unreal Engine | Epic Games | 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android | Proprietary | Free to download and use |
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve. It debuted as the successor to GoldSrc in 2004 with the releases of Half-Life: Source, Counter-Strike: Source, and Half-Life 2. Updates to Source were released in incremental versions, with the engine being succeeded by Source 2 by the late 2010s.
Neocron is a 2002 post-apocalyptic cyberpunk massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) developed by Reakktor Media GmbH and published by cdv Software Entertainment. It is considered the first cyberpunk-genre MMORPG, and is designed to integrate elements of first-person shooter games. It has been called a MMO first-person shooter (MMOFPS), but most consider it a hybrid of MMORPG and first-person shooter,. Although Neocron is often said to be the first MMOFPS, WWII Online, released in 2001, holds the Guinness World Record as the first MMOFPS.
Nexuiz is a free first-person shooter video game developed and published by Alientrap. The game was released under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and uses the DarkPlaces engine, a modified Quake engine. A remake, also called Nexuiz, has been released for Steam and Xbox 360 using CryEngine 3. The original game was released on May 31, 2005.
The Quake engine is the game engine developed by id Software to power their 1996 video game Quake. It featured true 3D real-time rendering and is now licensed under the terms of GNU General Public License v2.0 or later.
Torque Game Engine, or TGE, is an open-source cross-platform 3D computer game engine, developed by GarageGames and actively maintained under the current versions Torque 3D as well as Torque 2D. It was originally developed by Dynamix for the 2001 first-person shooter Tribes 2. In September 2012, GarageGames released Torque 3D as open-source software under the MIT License.
id Tech 3, popularly known as the Quake III Arena engine, is a game engine developed by id Software for their video game Quake III Arena. It has been adopted by numerous games. During its time, it competed with the Unreal Engine; both engines were widely licensed.
Huxley was a multiplayer first-person shooter computer game with persistent player characters published by Webzen Games Inc. It was being developed for Microsoft Windows. An Xbox 360 port was planned, but it has been put on an indefinite hold. Huxley initially was going to be cross platform, but according to statements made at the 2009 E3 Expo press conference that feature is currently excluded from development. The contract to operate the game in China was sold to The9 for $35 million USD on February 12, 2007, considered the largest export transaction to date for a Korean-developed game.
Cube 2: Sauerbraten is a cross-platform, Quake-like first-person shooter that runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and Mac OS X using OpenGL and SDL.
Alien Arena is an open-source, stand-alone first-person shooter computer game. Begun by COR Entertainment in 2004, the game combines a 1950s-era sci-fi atmosphere with gameplay similar to the Quake, Doom, and Unreal Tournament series. Alien Arena focuses mainly on online multiplayer action, although it does contain single-player matches against bots.
Tremulous is a free and open source asymmetric team-based first-person shooter with real-time strategy elements. Being a cross-platform development project the game is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
An open-source video game, or simply an open-source game, is a video game whose source code is open-source. They are often freely distributable and sometimes cross-platform compatible.
AssaultCube, formerly ActionCube, is an open source first-person shooter video game, based on Cube and use the same engine, the Cube Engine. Although the main focus of AssaultCube is multiplayer online gaming, a single-player mode consists of computer-controlled bots.
The operating system GNU/Linux can be used for playing video games. Because many games are not natively supported for the Linux kernel, various software has been made to run Windows games, such as Wine, Cedega, and Proton, and managers such as Lutris and PlayOnLinux. The Linux gaming community has a presence on the internet with users who attempt to run games that are normally not supported on Linux.
Aeria Games, formerly known as Aeria Games and Entertainment, was an online game publisher. The corporate headquarters was in Berlin, Germany.
This outline is an overview of software and a topical guide in list form.
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of a protagonist or antagonist which is armed, and then controlling the player character in a three-dimensional space. The genre shares common traits with other shooter games, and in turn falls under the action game genre. Since the genre's inception, advanced 3D and pseudo-3D graphics have challenged hardware development, and multiplayer gaming has been integral.
Xonotic is a free and open-source first-person shooter video game. It was developed as a fork of Nexuiz, following controversy surrounding the game's development. The game runs on a heavily modified version of the Quake engine known as the DarkPlaces engine. Its gameplay is inspired by Unreal Tournament and Quake, but with various unique elements.
A massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS) is an online game which mixes the genres of first-person shooter and massively multiplayer online game. A MMOFPS is a real-time shooter experience where a very large number of players simultaneously interact with one another in a virtual world. These games provide large-scale, sometimes team-based combat.