List of Commercial Video Games Released As Freeware - Games No Longer Freely Distributed

Games No Longer Freely Distributed

The following are commercial games that were re-released as freeware but were not freely redistributable software. They were only available as freeware for a limited time, but could not be redistributed, so they are no longer freely available.

  • Airborne Ranger (1988), a stealth 2D game by Microprose. It was released as freeware by Atari to promote Airborne Rangers. A free registration was required to download the game. After Airborne Rangers wasn't released, the Airborne Ranger page and the download link were removed. The game is still mentioned as freeware and many forums and sites have the now dead link to the game page. The legal situation now is unclear because the installer has no disclaimer.
  • Area 51 (2005), a first person shooter by Midway Games. Its free release was sponsored by the US Air Force. It later changed hands and its freeware status was removed.
  • B-17 Flying Fortress (1992), a flight simulator by MicroProse.
  • Betrayal at Krondor (1993), a role-playing game by Dynamix.
  • Caesar (1992), a city-building game by Sierra.
  • Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition, free at GOG.com for 2012 Holidays.
  • Fallout (1997), a role-playing game by Interplay Entertainment, free on GOG.com for two days.
  • Far Cry (2004), first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek. Ubisoft had released the game in a four-day promotion as ad-supported freeware on FilePlanet.
  • Gateway (1992), an adventure game by Legend Entertainment.
  • Hollywood Monsters (1997), an adventure game by Péndulo Studios, for a month to promote the release of another Pendulo title, New York Crimes.
  • Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse (2003), a strategy game by Ascaron and FX Interactive, for two weeks to promote the FX Classics Store.
  • Portal (2007), an action/puzzle game by Valve Corporation, available from May 12, 2010, for two weeks to promote the Steam client's availability to Mac users, and once again for a few days in September 2011, to promote the "Learn with Portals" initiative.
  • Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003), third-person action adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal. Ubisoft released the game as ad-supported freeware on FilePlanet for a limited time.
  • Rayman Raving Rabbids (2006), a video game in the popular Rayman series, developed by Ubisoft Montpellier. Ubisoft had released the PC version of the game in a four-day promotion as ad-supported freeware on FilePlanet.
  • Realms of Arkania 1+2, free in GOG.com completing a survey.
  • Realms of Arkania 3, free in GOG.com taking a download quality test.
  • Red Baron 3D (1998), a flight game by Sierra.
  • Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War (2006), a real-time strategy/third-person shooter by Stainless Steel Studios and Midway Games. Re-released as ad-supported freeware, sponsored by the US Air Force.
  • Runaway (2001), an adventure game by Pendulo Studios and published by Dinamic Multimedia, and later by FX Interactive. The game was released for free for 30 days to celebrate the launch of Hollywood Monsters 2, a.k.a. The Next BIG Thing.
  • The Suffering (2004), a horror third/first person shooter developed by Surreal Software and published by Midway Games. It was released free in September 2008, but is no longer available due to a new copyright holder.
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (2001), a tactical shooter by Ubisoft. Released in an ad-supported free download version in 2007 for a limited time; available to US residents only.
  • Zork I, Zork II, Zork III, text adventure games by Infocom.

Read more about this topic:  List Of Commercial Video Games Released As Freeware

Famous quotes containing the words games, longer, freely and/or distributed:

    “At the age of twelve I was finding the world too small: it appeared to me like a dull, trim back garden, in which only trivial games could be played.”
    —Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)

    “My consciousness-raising group is still going on. Every Monday night it meets, somewhere in Greenwich Village, and it drinks a lot of red wine and eats a lot of cheese. A friend of mine who is in it tells me that at the last meeting, each of the women took her turn to explain, in considerable detail, what she was planning to stuff her Thanksgiving turkey with. I no longer go to the group.”
    —Nora Ephron (b. 1941)

    “I was like a social worker for lepers. My clients had a chunk of their body they wanted to give away; for a price I was there to receive it. Crimes, sins, nightmares, hunks of hair: it was surprising how many of them has something to dispose of. The more I charged, the easier it was for them to breathe freely once more.”
    —Tama Janowitz (b. 1957)

    “Indiana was really, I suppose, a Democratic State. It has always been put down in the book as a state that might be carried by a close and careful and perfect organization and a great deal of—[from audience: “soap”Ma reference to purchased votes, the word being followed by laughter].
    I see reporters here, and therefore I will simply say that everybody showed a great deal of interest in the occasion, and distributed tracts and political documents all through the country.”
    —Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886)