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List of first-person shooter engines

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Steel1943 (talk | contribs) at 19:38, 15 November 2016 (→Late 1990s: 32-bit color, GPUs become standard: dab). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

See also: List of game engines

This is a sortable list of first-person shooter engines.

Early FPS graphics engines

Game engine First used for date Other First-person shooters
N/A Maze War 1973
N/A Spasim 1974
Arsys Software Plazma Line 1984 Wibarm (1986), Star Cruiser (1988), Star Cruiser 2 (1992)
Freescape Driller 1987 Dark Side (1988), Total Eclipse (1988), Castle Master (1990), Castle Master II: The Crypt (1990), The Sphinx Jinx (1991)
N/A The Colony 1988

Early 1990s: wireframes to 2.5D worlds and textures

Game engine First used for date Other First-person shooters
N/A The Super Spy 1990 Crossed Swords (1991)
N/A Hovertank 3D 1990
N/A Catacomb 3D 1991
N/A Gun Buster 1992
Wolfenstein 3D engine Wolfenstein 3D 1992 Spear of Destiny (1992), Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold (1993), Operation Body Count (1994), Corridor 7: Alien Invasion (1994), Blake Stone: Planet Strike (1994), Rise of the Triad (1994)
Underworld Engine Ultima Underworld 1992 System Shock (1994)
N/A Ken's Labyrinth 1993
Pie in the Sky Lethal Tender 1993 Terminal Terror (1994), Pencil Whipped (2000), various others (1994–1998)
id Tech 1 Doom 1993 Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994), Heretic (1994), The Ultimate Doom (1995), Hexen: Beyond Heretic (1995), Master Levels for Doom II (1995), Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel (1996), Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders (1996), Strife: Quest for the Sigil (1996), Final Doom (1996), Chex Quest (1996), Chex Quest 2: Flemoids Take Chextropolis (1997)
N/A Marathon 1994
Marathon 2 Marathon 2: Durandal 1995 Marathon Infinity (1996), Prime Target (1996), ZPC (1996), Damage Incorporated (1997)
Jedi Engine Star Wars: Dark Forces 1995 Outlaws (1997)
Build engine Witchaven 1995 William Shatner's TekWar (1995), Duke Nukem 3D (1996), Witchaven II: Blood Vengeance (1996), Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition (1996), PowerSlave (1996, PC version), Redneck Rampage (1997), Blood (1997), Shadow Warrior (1997), Redneck Rampage: Suckin' Grits on Route 66 (1998), Redneck Rampage Rides Again (1998), NAM (1998), Extreme Paintbrawl (1998), World War II GI (1999)
Gloom (engine) Gloom 1995 Gloom 2, Gloom 3, Gloom Mods (1995-2015)
AB3D (engine) Alien Breed 3D 1995 Team 17 - Amiga only
AB3D2 (engine) Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds 1996 Team 17 - Advanced Amiga only (Full textured 3D with lightning (no 3D hardware))
N/A Assassin 2015 1996 Goosebumps: Attack of the Mutant (1997)

Mid 1990s: 3D models, beginnings of hardware acceleration

Game engine First used for date Other First-person shooters
N/A Geograph Seal 1994 Jumping Flash! (1995), Jumping Flash! 2 (1996), Robbit Mon Dieu (1999), Pocket MuuMuu (1999)
N/A Descent 1994 Descent II (1996), Descent to Undermountain (1997)
N/A Metal Head 1995
XnGine Engine The Terminator: Future Shock 1995 The Terminator: SkyNET (1996)
Quake engine Quake 1996 Hexen II (1997), Malice (1997), X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse (1997), Laser Arena (2000)
SlaveDriver engine PowerSlave (Sega Saturn version) 1996 Quake (1997, Sega Saturn version), Duke Nukem 3D (1997, Sega Saturn version)
GoldenEye engine GoldenEye 007 1997 Perfect Dark (2000)
Sith engine Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II 1997
id Tech 2 Quake II 1997 Heretic II (1998), SiN (1998), Kingpin: Life of Crime (1999), Soldier of Fortune (2000), Daikatana (2000)
Lithtech 1.0 Shogo: Mobile Armor Division 1998 Blood II: The Chosen (1998)

Late 1990s: 32-bit color, GPUs become standard

Game engine First used for date Other First-person shooters
Unreal engine Unreal 1998 Unreal Tournament (1999), Deus Ex (2000), Clive Barker's Undying (2001)
Dark engine Thief: The Dark Project 1998 System Shock 2 (1999), Thief II: The Metal Age (2000)
Torque Game Engine Starsiege: Tribes 1998 Tribes 2 (2001)
id Tech 3 Quake III Arena 1999 Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force (2000), Quake III: Team Arena (2000), Urban Terror (2000), Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001), Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (2002), Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002), Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (2002), Star Trek: Elite Force II (2003), Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003), Call of Duty (2003), ioquake3 (2005), OpenArena (2006), Tremulous (2006)
Lithtech Talon No One Lives Forever 2000 Aliens versus Predator 2 (2001)
Fusion engine Descent 3 1999
GoldSrc Engine Half-Life 1998

Early 2000s: increasing detail, outdoor environments, rag-doll physics

Game engine First used for date Other First-person shooters
Refractor Engine Codename Eagle 2000
Serious Engine Serious Sam: The First Encounter 2001 Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (2002), Serious Sam: Next Encounter (2004)
Refractor 2 Battlefield 1942 2002 Battlefield Vietnam (2004), Battlefield 2 (2005), Battlefield 2142 (2006)
Glacier engine Hitman: Codename 47 2000 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002), Freedom Fighters (2003), Hitman: Contracts (2004), Hitman: Blood Money (2006)
SAGE Engine Command & Conquer: Renegade 2002
LS3D engine Mafia 2002 Hidden & Dangerous 2 (2004), Chameleon (2005)
Unreal Engine 2.0 America's Army 2002 Unreal Tournament 2003 (2002) Unreal II: The Awakening (2003), Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield (2003), Devastation (2003), Postal 2 (2003), Unreal Tournament 2004 (2004)
Lithtech Jupiter No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way 2002 Tron 2.0 (2003)
Lithtech 2.5 Global Operations 2002
N/A Metroid Prime 2002 Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004)
Cube Engine Cube (2002-2005) 2002 Assault Cube
Real Virtuality Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis 2001 VBS1 (2002), ArmA: Armed Assault (2007), ARMA II (2009)

Mid 2000s: lighting and pixel shaders, physics

Game engine First used for date Other First-person shooters
Zero (proprietary Pandemic Studios engine) Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2002 Star Wars: Battlefront (2004), Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005), The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (2009)
Unreal Engine 2.5 Tribes Vengeance 2004 S.W.A.T. 4 (2004), Unreal Tournament 2004 (2004), BioShock (2007), Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010), Duke Nukem Forever (2011)
PAIN engine Painkiller 2004 NecroVisioN (2009)
CryEngine Far Cry 2004 Aion: Tower of Eternity (2008)
Cube 2 Engine Cube 2: Sauerbraten 2004 Eisenstern, Red Eclipse (2011)
id Tech 4 Doom 3 2004 Quake 4 (2005), Prey (2006), Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (2007), Wolfenstein (2009), Brink (2011)
Halo engine Halo: Combat Evolved 2001 Halo 2 (2004)
Source engine Half-Life 2 2004 Counter-Strike Source (2004), Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (2004), Day of Defeat: Source (2005), Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006), Empires (2006), Sin Episodes - Emergence (2006), Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (2006), Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (2007), Team Fortress 2 (2007), Portal (2007), Left 4 Dead (2008), Zeno Clash (2009), Left 4 Dead 2 (2009), Portal 2 (2011), Postal III (2011)
Lithtech Jupiter EX F.E.A.R. 2005 Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005), Condemned 2: Bloodshot (2008), Combat Arms (2008), F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)
X-ray engine S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl 2007 S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (2008)
Unity Unknown Deus Ex: The Fall (2013), Interstellar Marines (TBA)

Late 2000s and beyond: the approach to photorealism

Game engine First used for date Other First-person shooters
Unreal Engine 3 Gears of War 2006 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006), Medal of Honor: Airborne (2007), Unreal Tournament 3 (2007), Turok (2008), Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (2008), Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013), Mirror's Edge (2008), Borderlands (2009), Tribes: Ascend (2012), BioShock Infinite (2013)
CryEngine 2 Crysis 2007 Crysis Warhead (2008)
Dunia Engine Far Cry 2 2008
Dunia Engine 2 Far Cry 3 2012 Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (2013)
Frostbite Engine Battlefield: Bad Company 2008 Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Medal of Honor (2010, multiplayer only), Battlefield 3, Mirror's Edge 2 (TBA)
EGO engine Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising 2009
Real Virtuality 3 ArmA 2 2009
Chrome Engine 4 Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood 2009 Dead Island (2011)
Halo Reach Engine Halo: Reach 2010 Halo 4 (2012)
X-ray engine 1.6 S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat 2009
CryEngine 3 Crysis 2 2011 Crysis (2011, console versions), Crysis 3 (2013), Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 (2013), Warface (2013)
Fox Engine Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes 2014 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015), Silent Hills (2015), P.T. (2014)
id Tech 5 Rage 2011 Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014), The Evil Within (2014), Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (2015)
Vision Engine 8 Dizzel 7554 (November 26, 2011)
Real Virtuality 4 ArmA 3 2013
IW 3.0 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2007 Call of Duty: World at War (2008), 007: Quantum of Solace (2008), Call of Duty: Black Ops (2009),
IW 4.0 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 2009
IW 5.0 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 2011
IW 6.0 Call of Duty: Ghosts 2013 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
id Tech 6 Doom 2016
Unreal Engine 4 Unreal Tournament (TBA), Dead Island 2 (TBA), Ark: Survival Evolved (TBA)

Specialized engines/engine middle-ware

Some features may or may not be integrated into engines. For instance for trees and foliage a special "engine" is available, SpeedTree, that does just that (or could be integrated into general engines). The Euphoria character's 3D animating engine can be used independently but is also integrated in the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine and the game Grand Theft Auto IV.

See also

References

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