Shareware: a business model sorted by release date
Shareware is a type of software distribution model that allows users to try a program before purchasing it. It's a marketing strategy and distribution method that was particularly popular in the early days of personal computing, primarily during the 1980s and 1990s.
Shareware games were released for free with limited functionality (for example: no saving, missing levels, time limit), often via a BBS (Bulletin Board System), a floppy disc or a CD included in a printed magazine or by direct download (when internet was in its infancy). If the user liked the shareware product, they could pay to obtain an upgrade and unlock the full game. When digital distribution started to become popular, shareware games slowly faded into oblivion.
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CHAMP Ms. Pac-man
DOS1994remake3.9/5 ChamProgramming corp.
Flying Tigers
DOS19944.1/5 Ticsoft
Flying Tigers is an abandoned vertical-scrolling sci-fi themed shoot 'em up game developed and released by Ticsoft in 1994 for MS-DOS only. Flying Tigers is the first chapter of the two parts Flying Tigers video game series.
Flying Tigers 2
DOS19943.3/5
Heretic
DOS1994protecteddemo4.3/5 Raven Software
Hocus Pocus
DOS1994protected4.2/5 Apogee Software
In Search of Dr. Riptide
DOS19943.7/5 MindStorm Software
Jazz Jackrabbit
DOS1994protected3.8/5 Epic MegaGames
Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare
DOS1994protected3.9/5 Epic MegaGames
King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table
DOS19943.3/5 MVP Software
LineWars 2
DOS19944/5 Safari Software
One Must Fall 2097
DOS1994freeware4.1/5 Diversions Entertainment
Raptor: Call of the Shadows
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac1994protecteddemo4.1/5 Cygnus Studios
Raptor: Call of the Shadows is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed by Cygnus Studios and published by Apogee Software. The game was first released in 1994 for MS-DOS and later ported to other platforms. In Raptor, players control a fighter jet through various levels filled with enemy aircraft, ground targets, power-ups and boss...
Rise of the Triad: Dark War
DOS1994protected3.9/5 Apogee Software
Skyroads: Xmas Special
DOS1994freeware3.4/5 Bluemoon Interactive
The Aethra Chronicles
DOS19943.9/5
The Aethra Chronicles is not a well know fantasy RPG, but it deserves some praise. It was developed by only one person (Micheal Lawrence) and, as the title implies, was intended to be the first volume of a saga. Unfortunately, volume two and three were never made. For a shareware game, Aethra was pretty solid and is still loved by the ones who play...
Traffic department 2192
DOS1994freeware3.7/5 P Squared
Tubular Worlds
DOS19943.5/5
Xatax
DOS19944/5 Pixel Painters Corporation
Abuse
DOSLinuxMac1995freeware3.9/5 Crack dot Com
Ack-Ack Attack!
DOS1995remake4.2/5 PLBM Games
AlphaMan
DOS19953.6/5
Blackstar: Agent of Justice
DOS19953.4/5
Clyde's Revenge
DOS1995freeware3/5 Moonlite Software
Electranoid
DOS19954.1/5 Pixel Painters Corporation
Epic Baseball
DOS19953.8/5 MicroLeague Multimedia
Escape from delirium
DOS19953.9/5 Virtual X-Perience
Exile: Escape from the Pit
Windows XP/98/95MacWindows 3.x1995freeware3.9/5 Spiderweb Software
In the Dead of Night
DOS19953.8/5 Trecision
Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom
DOS19953.8/5 Pop Software
Meteor Mission
DOS19953.5/5