The most popular shareware games

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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Alien Rampage

DOS19964.1/5

AlphaMan

DOS19953.6/5

Epic Pinball

DOSMac OS1993protected3.7/5 Digital Extremes

Secret Agent

DOS1992protected3.9/5 Apogee Software

Night Raid

DOS1992remake3.8/5 Argo Games

Blake Stone 1: Aliens of Gold

DOS1993protected4.1/5 JAM Productions

Air Traffic Controller

DOS19854.2/5 Cascoly Software

Blake Stone 2: Planet Strike

DOS1994protected4/5 JAM Productions

Shooting Gallery

DOS19903.8/5 Arcanum Computing

Inner Worlds

DOSLinux19963.7/5 Sleepless Software

Yendorian Tales: The Tyrants of Thaine

DOS19973.9/5 SW Games

Cosmo's Cosmic Adventures

DOS1992protected4.1/5 Apogee Software

Bio Menace Episode 2: The Hidden Lab

DOS1993freeware4.1/5 Apogee Software

Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter!

DOS19914.1/5 id software

Exile II: Crystal Souls

Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1996freeware3.9/5 Spiderweb Software

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...

God of Thunder

DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware3.9/5 Adept Software

God of Thunder is a classic computer game developed by Adept Software and released in 1993. It's a puzzle platformer with a fantasy theme. In the game, you control Thor, the Norse god of thunder, on a quest to save Midgard (Earth) from the evil god Loki and his minions.The gameplay involves navigating through various levels filled with obstacles, e...

Xenophage: Alien BloodSport

DOS1996freeware3.8/5 Argo Games

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...

Wolfenstein 3D

DOSMac OS1992protecteddemo4.1/5 id software

Wolfenstein 3D is the first-person shooter that popularized the whole genre in the early 90s and is considered one of the greatest games ever made. Wolfenstein 3D was designed by John Romero and Tom Hall (id Software) and released as shareware by Apogee Software in 1992 for DOS. Wolfenstein 3D is based on the Wolf3D engine, programmed by John ...