List of free closed source games

[MrFlibble]

I have expanded the list, now this includes all kinds of free closed source games, including liberated games.

[MrFlibble]

Added the following titles:

Palm Kingdoms 2*
Xenon 2000*
Industrial Killers DOS
Derelict
Lost Labyrinth
Mission Cobra 98 DOS [download]
Cyber-Marine DOS [download]
Avert Fate
Outpost 41
Super ACiD Block Attack DOS
Sint Nicolaas
Inner Worlds* DOS
Xargon* DOS
Janitor Dan the Spaceman
TSB
Joe Snow
Eternal Daughter
Tower of the Sorcerer
The Times Exclusive Tomb Raider Level
Pencil Whipped
G-Sector
Warrior Dragon
PixelShips
Elite: The New Kind
MageGuild
Disasteroids 3D
Steel Panthers: World at War
Battlelords DOS
Vyrox
Carax '95

[MrFlibble]

Added some more titles:

1821: The Struggle for Freedom
ProtoType
Prism: Guard Shield
Universal Combat Free Full Singleplayer
Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War
Gore - Ultimate Soldier Special Edition [download]

Also added working download links for Giant Worlds.

[486 player]

<emptied>

Thanks for corrections.

[MrFlibble]

I don't think Corridor 7 was ever officially declared freeware. As Capstone/Intracorp went out of business, one of their former employees, programmer Les Bird, of his own accord released the source code for several Build engine games, namely William Shatner's TekWar, Witchaven I & II, and the development version of Corridor 8. This release is accompanied by the following note:

These games were released by Capstone Software prior to them folding in 1996. As a former Capstone programmer I found these developer snapshots in my archives and by popular demand I've decided to release it to the hobbyist community in hopes that the games will be revived. I do not own the rights to these games. I do not know who owns the rights to these games. To the best of my knowledge these games are abandonware (or whatever you want to call it).

As for Corridor 7, I know about this site but it does not mention anywhere if the files came from an official source or not. The floppy version download does not include any readme or freeware license; it doesn't even contain any original installers, just a pre-installed version from that guy's PC.

Further in the same Doomworld thread another user says:

I can link you to it.

This one guy recieved the game from the creators of it, and made a whole site on his own just to give the game.

unlike the last time I posted free games, this is legal

here you are. You can get the CD and floppy version, as well as operation body count.

Correction; "this guy" as you call him, was given the source code and prototype of "Corridor 8: Galatic Wars" by Capstones former lead programmer, which was an in progress sequel to Corridor 7 when Intracorp and Capstone went bankrupt in 1996.

"this guy"'s site was also around before he was given the Corridor 8 materials.

Personally I prefer to err on the side of caution, but at any rate, since Capstone/Intracorp never released any other game of theirs for free, I find it unlikely that Corridor 7 is officially/legally freeware.

[MrFlibble]

I haven't updated this in a long while, but here's some recent-ish stuff that I came across:

• Flynn Sprint -- this was originally a shareware game, I found the full version by simple Googling at SourceForge. The author, Victor B. Putz, uploaded the registered DOS game but not the source. I contacted him and he confirmed that the game is free to distribute.
• 3D Pulsoid -- an Arkanoid/Breakout clone from Ukrainian devs, made in 1998. It was marketed as shareware by Ultisoft (a company focussed on Slots type games but they also published other stuff too) and is based on the earlier game by the same authors, simply called Pulsoid. You can get the 3D Pulsoid reg key from their site along the latest version.
• Biprolex+ -- a Russian Tetris/Arkanoid hybrid.
• Cosmic Ambush -- Space Invaders type game from a Swedish team.

Also Paul Panks' page -- some interesting DOS projects, including a neat looking RPG (incomplete but with source) and a roguelike.

[frca]

I would like to add my own freeware game RCross. Please note that I am working on a car physics overhaul, which should be ready in a few months.

Maybe I will start a separate thread here in the General Gaming for this game eventually (if it is the right section).

[MrFlibble]

Nice! Happy new year!

I just tried it, works very well in DOSBox.

[frca]

RCross receives major update!

[eliasdiaz]

Age of War game is also very good

[MrFlibble]

Somehow the official Battlecruiser 3000AD website no longer lists places to download the freeware releases of the game, but a bit of Googling found useful mirrors:
Battlecruiser 3000AD (DOS)
Battlecruser 3000AD v2.0 (Win)

[MrFlibble]

The list in the first post of this thread has been updated in a major way, with more games and a more detailed (and hopefully more accurate) genre breakdown.

It's not meant to be exhaustive, but I tried to list as many good, complete closed-source games as I could.

For historical reference, here's the old version of the list, but please note that it is in some places inaccurate and some links may not work:

This is a list of legally free games that do not have their source code available to the public. Liberated (formerly commercial or shareware) games are marked with an asterisk. For non-Windows games, their platform is indicated in bold next to the title (except for those games that are bundled with an emulator like DOSBox).

This list does not include: multiplayer-only games; browser-based games; games with any kind of DRM (Steam etc.); limited time promotional giveaways; abandonware of any kind; and any unauthorised free "remakes" of commercial games that essentially allow to play any substantial portion of such games for free.

For a list of free open source games, please check this thread. A very comprehensive, frequently updated list of all sorts of free games can be found here.

Arcade
Alien Breed: Obliteration
AstroFire* DOS
Carax '95
Cash Invaders DOS
Cybersphere* DOS
Cybersphere Plus* DOS
Disasteroids 3D
The Dungeons of Grimlor I & II* DOS
God of Thunder* DOS
Joe Snow
Kosmonaut* DOS
Legend of the Silver Talisman DOS
Lode Runner Online
Mine Bombers* DOS
Mr. Boom DOS
Obliterator DOS
SkiFree
SkyRoads* DOS
Super ACiD Block Attack DOS
Tower of the Sorcerer
TurboLode
Vyrox

Adventure
The Adventures of Maddog Williams* DOS
Bronze Dragon: Conquest of Infinity* Apple II
Cosmos Quest series
Dragon Side II: The Twisted Speare* Apple II
Eye of the Kraken
Heroine's Quest: The Herald of Ragnarok
King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown
King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones
King's Quest III Redux
Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire
Robomaze III* DOS [download]

Beat 'Em Up
Battle of the Eras* DOS
The Black Heart
One Must Fall 2097* DOS
Sango Fighter* DOS
Sango Fighter 2* DOS

Educational
BabyType DOS

First-Person Shooter
8bit Killer
Alien Cabal* DOS [Windows upgrade]
Avert Fate
Barista 1
Beyond Life
Bitsturbed
Derelict
The Esc4pe
Gore - Ultimate Soldier Special Edition* [download]
Gun Godz
Hades 2* [download]
Industrial Killers DOS
Invention RPG
The Journey
LineWars II* DOS
Outpost 41
Paranoia 2: Savior
Pencil Whipped
Prism: Guard Shield
Purple Complex
Red Alert: A Path Beyond
Renegade X
Sublevel Zero Prototype [download]
Tiberian Sun Reborn
Tribes series*
Wolfram

Management Strategy
City of Rauma
Valmeria - Villages and Cities

Platform
1213
Alien Carnage* DOS
Bio Menace* DOS
Blackthorne*
Captain Binary
Cyber-Marine DOS [download]
Electro Man* DOS
Eternal Daughter
Giana's Return
The Great Giant Sisters DOS
Giant Worlds [download] [installer]
Happyland Adventures
Heroes of Yggdrasil
Heros I: The Sanguine Seven* DOS
Iji
Inner Worlds* DOS
Maldita Castilla
Robomaze II: The Lobby* DOS [download]
Special Agent
Sint Nicolaas
T2002
Tailchaser*
TSB
Xargon* DOS

Puzzle
Gate
Get Lost!* DOS
The Lost Vikings*
Quadrax*

Racing
Death Rally*
RunOut
Street Rod series

Real-Time Strategy
Command & Conquer Gold
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun*
Enemy Nations*
Ground Control*
Priority: Survive
Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War*
StarCraft*
Subpar Commander
S.W.I.N.E.*

Role-Playing
A Blurred Line
Ahriman's Prophecy
Berserker Quest VI
The Elder Scrolls: Arena* DOS
The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall* DOS
Eschalon: Book I*
Exile: Escape from the Pit* Win3.x
Exile II: Crystal Souls* Win3.x
Exile III: Ruined World* Win3.x
Fire & Dragons
Gates of Destiny
Helherron*
Joyous Rebel* DOS
Perihelion* Amiga
The Provinces of Midland - Argskin
Pyrrhic Tales: Prelude to Darkness
RuneSword*
ShadowFlare: Episode One [discontinued]
Thor's Hammer* DOS
Warrior Dragon

Roguelike
CaRPG
Castle of the Winds* Win3.x
Lords of Doom* DOS
Lost Labyrinth
MageGuild
Ragnarok* DOS
Rogue's Quest
o additional scenarios
UnReal World*

Shooter
CS2D
Dark Rage* DOS
Evasive Maneuvers* DOS
Hell Fighter
Hydorah
Janitor Dan the Spaceman
Katakis* Amiga
Major Stryker* DOS
Mission Cobra 98 DOS [download]
Molez* DOS
Operation Carnage* DOS
Operation Spacehog
PixelShips
ProtoType
R-Type* Amiga
Rocketz* DOS
SideLine* DOS
sk0r Spaceshooter
StarFight series
Stargunner* DOS
Tapan Kaikki DOS [download]
Tapan Kaikki Bloodshed
TerraFire* DOS
Theseus - Return of the Hero
Tiger's Bane* Win3.x
Transcendence
The Ultimate Tapan Kaikki DOS [download]
Xenon 2000*

Simulation
Elite: The New Kind
Orbiter
RiftSpace* [download]
Star Wraith 2* [download]
Star Wraith 3: Shadows of Orion* [download]
Starion 2010
Universal Combat Free Full Singleplayer*

Third-Person Shooter/Action
G-Sector
Hidden & Dangerous Deluxe*
Noxious
Path of Shadows
The Times Exclusive Tomb Raider Level

Turn-Based Strategy
Battles of Destiny* DOS
Conquest of Elysium II* [download]
Great Nations
Palm Kingdoms 2*
Wargame Project

Turn-Based Tactics
1821: The Struggle for Freedom
1848
Battlelords DOS
Rapid Response* DOS [download]
The War Engine*
winSPMBT*
winSPWW2*
Steel Panthers: World at War
X-Force: Fight for Destiny

[violencereef]

The In Pursuit of Greed entry on MG is in need of significant improvements. The credits section is notably incomplete and contains inaccuracies, such as the lead programmer being credited as "unknown." Additionally, the screenshots provided are all from the early demo v2.0, which doesn't accurately represent the final game. To address these issues, it's essential to update the credits with accurate information and replace the outdated screenshots with representative ones from the actual game.

Moreover, there's a need to create a new Raven Engine game group for In Pursuit of Greed and ShadowCaster. Establishing a dedicated group for these titles would help organize and categorize them more effectively.

While I had intentions to address these issues myself, my current schedule has been quite hectic, and I haven't had the time to make these necessary improvements. If anyone within the community has the bandwidth to contribute, these enhancements would undoubtedly contribute to a more accurate and comprehensive entry for In Pursuit of Greed on MG.

[Rwolf]

It is the role itself which probably was not stated on the credit source it was taken from.
The entry was created back in 2000, and it would be good if it could be updated if there are errors.
Someone preferably should own the original game to make scans of the relevant manual page with the credits on it, or take a screenshot to fix it.
Also, such requests may be better suggested on the Mobygames forums?