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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Ant Attack!

DOS1994freeware3.7/5 Dataware

Astro Fire

DOS1994freewareremake3.8/5 ORT Software

Blake Stone 2: Planet Strike

DOS1994protected4/5 JAM Productions

Boppin

DOS1994freeware4/5 Accursed Toys

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

DOS1994protecteddemo4.2/5 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

Nitemare 3D

DOSWindows 3.x1994protected3.3/5 Gray Design Associates

Nitemare 3D is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by David P. Gray under the Gray Design Associates label. It was released in 1994 as a follow-up to the earlier adventure games in the "Hugo" series. The protagonist, Hugo, embarks on a mission to rescue his girlfriend, Penelope, who has been kidnapped by the evil Dr. Hame...

One Must Fall 2097

DOS1994freeware4.1/5 Diversions Entertainment

One Must Fall: 2097 is a fighting game released in 1994 by Epic MegaGames. Set in a futuristic world, the game features giant humanoid robots known as HARs (Human-Assisted Robots) controlled by human pilots. The storyline revolves around a tournament organized by the multinational corporation WAR (World Aeronautics and Robotics), where pilots compe...

Raptor: Call of the Shadows

DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1994protecteddemo4.1/5 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...