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.
Sort by:
Squarez Deluxe!
DOS1993freeware Adept Software
Xargon
DOS1993freeware Epic MegaGames
Ant Attack!
DOS1994freeware Dataware
Astro Fire
DOS1994freewareremake ORT Software
Blake Stone 2: Planet Strike
DOS1994protected JAM Productions
Boppin
DOS1994freeware Accursed Toys
CHAMP Ms. Pac-man
DOS1994remake ChamProgramming corp.
Flying Tigers
DOS1994 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
DOS1994
Heretic
DOS1994protecteddemo Raven Software
Hocus Pocus
DOS1994protected Apogee Software
In Search of Dr. Riptide
DOS1994 MindStorm Software
Jazz Jackrabbit
DOS1994protected Epic MegaGames
Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare
DOS1994protected Epic MegaGames
King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table
DOS1994 MVP Software
LineWars 2
DOS1994 Safari Software
Nitemare 3D
DOSWindows 3.x1994protected 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
DOS1994freeware 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 OS1994protecteddemo 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
DOS1994protected Apogee Software
Skyroads: Xmas Special
DOS1994freeware Bluemoon Interactive
The Aethra Chronicles
DOS1994
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
DOS1994freeware P Squared
Tubular Worlds
DOS1994
Xatax
DOS1994 Pixel Painters Corporation
Abuse
DOSLinuxMac OS1995freeware Crack dot Com
Ack-Ack Attack!
DOS1995remake PLBM Games
AlphaMan
DOS1995
Blackstar: Agent of Justice
DOS1995
Clyde's Revenge
DOS1995freeware Moonlite Software