List of first-person shooter engines

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

Early 1970s - Late 1980s: wireframes to flat-shaded 3D Game engineFirst used forDate Other first-person shooters Maze 1973 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), Total Eclipse II: The Sphinx Jinx (1991) The Colony 1988

Early 1990s: 2.5D environments, sprites, and textures Game engine First used forDate Other first-person shooters The Super Spy 1990 proto-Wolfenstein 3D engine Hovertank 3D 1990 Catacomb 3D 1991 Gunbuster 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), Super Noah's Ark 3D (1994) Underworld Engine Ultima Underworld 1992 KenTech Ken's Labyrinth 1993 Pie in the Sky Lethal Tender 1993 Terminal Terror (1994), Pencil Whipped (2000), various others (1994–1998) Doom engine 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), Doom 64 (1997) Aleph Zero Marathon 1994 Build Engine Legend of the Seven Paladins 1994Witchaven (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), Ion Fury (2019) Aleph One Marathon 2: Durandal 1995 Marathon Infinity (1996), Prime Target (1996), ZPC (1996), Damage Incorporated (1997) Jedi Engine Star Wars: Dark Forces 1995 Outlaws (1997) Gloom Gloom 1995 Gloom 2, Gloom 3, Gloom mods (1995–2015) BreedTech Alien Breed 3D 1995 BreedTech 2 Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds 1996 Assassin 2015 1996 Goosebumps: Attack of the Mutant (1997) Chasm: The Rift 1997

Mid 1990s: True 3D Environments, texture mapping/polygons, sprites-to-polygons animation transition, beginnings of 3D Graphics hardware acceleration (3dfx glide-NVIDIA) Game engine First used forDate Other first-person shooters Geograph Seal 1994System Shock EngineSystem Shock1994 Descent 1995 Descent II (1996)RenderWare 1.xCyberStreet (Tech Demo)1994RenderWare 2.xActive Worlds1995 XnGine 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), Quake II (1999, N64 Only), Laser Arena (2000), Wrath: Aeon of Ruin (2019) SlaveDriver PowerSlave (Saturn) 1996 Quake (1997, Saturn), Duke Nukem 3D (1997, Saturn) TEngine (Turok Engine) Turok: Dinosaur Hunter 1997Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (1998), South Park (1998), Turok: Rage Wars (1999), Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M. (1999), Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion (2000) RareWare Engine GoldenEye 007 1997 Perfect Dark (2000) Sith engine Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II 1997

Late 1990s: 32-bit color, per-vertex-animation-to-skeletal animation transition, fixed-function pipeline, peak-software-renderer-era Game engine First used forDate Other first-person shooters Quake II Engine Quake II 1997 Heretic II (1998), SiN (1998), Kingpin: Life of Crime (1999), Soldier of Fortune (2000), Daikatana (2000)NetImmerseSpellbinder: The Nexus Conflict (1999)1997The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002) Unreal Engine 1 Unreal 1998 Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard (1998), TNN Outdoors Pro Hunter (1998), Unreal Tournament (1999), Deus Ex (2000), Clive Barker's Undying (2001), Duke Nukem Forever (2011), Duke Nukem Forever: Restoration ProjectRed Storm EngineTom Clancy's Rainbow Six (video game)1998Rainbow Six: Eagle Watch (1999 expansion)  Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (1999), Rogue Spear expansions: Urban Operations (2000),Covert Ops Essentials (2000), and Black Thorn (2001) Lithtech 1.x - Talon Shogo: Mobile Armor Division 1998 Blood II: The Chosen (1998), TNN Outdoors Pro Hunter 2 (1999), KISS Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child (2000), The Operative: No One Lives Forever (2000), Sanity: Aiken's Artifact (2000), Vietnam: Black Ops (2000), Vietnam 2: Special Assignment (2001), Alien Vs. Predator 2 (2001), Crisis Team: Ambulance Driver (2002)Trespasser1998 GoldSrc (Modified Quake Engine) Half-Life 1998 Counter-Strike (2000), Gunman Chronicles (2000), James Bond 007: Nightfire (2002, PC version), Day of Defeat (2003), Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (2004) Dark Engine Thief: The Dark Project 1998 System Shock 2 (1999), Thief II: The Metal Age (2000)AtmosFearCarnivores (video game)1998Carnivores 2 (1999) Darkstar Starsiege: Tribes 1998Redline (1999 video game)1999E.A.T. EngineRequiem: Avenging Angel1999AsuraAlien Vs. Predator1999Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death (2003)FusionDescent 3 (1999)1999Insanity 3DHidden & Dangerous1999ICMortyr 2093 - 19441999Hammerhead Studios EngineQuake II (PlayStation Only)1999Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (PlayStation)1999Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lone Wolf (PS1), Delta Force: Urban Warfare (2002)Medal of Honor (1999 video game)1999Medal of Honor: Underground (2000)RefractorCodename: Eagle1999Riding Champion: Legacy of Rosemond Hill (2000)Phoenix VRDracula: The Resurrection1999SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle1999Eurocom (007: TWINE)007: The World Is Not Enough2000

Early 2000s: End of Software Renderer, First GPU (GeForce 256)-GPUs become standard, Increasing detail, outdoor environments, skeletal animation-standard, baked lightmaps/dynamic lighting, Fixed-Function-To-Early Programmable Shaders Transition, Single-Threaded CPU, Real-Time Physics Game engine First used forDate Other first-person shooters id Tech 3 (First engine to require Hardware-Accelerated GPU) Quake III Arena 1999 Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force (2000), Quake III: Team Arena (2000), Urban Terror (2000), OpenArena (2006), Tremulous (2006) Zero Battlezone II: Combat Commander 1999 Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2002), Star Wars: Battlefront (2004), Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005)Ptero EngineFlying Heroes2000Vietcong (2003), Vietcong 2 (2005)Phoenix3DThe Messenger (2000 video game)2000Iron Storm (2002), Inquisition (2002)RenderWare 3.xRoboCop (2003 video game)2000Call of Duty: Finest Hour (2004), Cold Winter (2005), Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (2005), Black (2006)TimeSplitters (video game)2000TimeSplitters 2 (2002), TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (2005)Project I.G.I.2000I.G.I. 2 - Covert Strike (2003)id Tech 3.5Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 22000 With UberTools (Ritual Entertainment): James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (2001), Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (2002), Star Trek: Elite Force II (2003), James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2004), Call of Duty (2003) Other Modified Branches: Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001), Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002), Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (2002), Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (2003), Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003), ioquake3 (2009) Serious Engine Serious Sam: The First Encounter 2001 Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (2002)Torque Game EngineTribes 2 (2001)2001Desert Gunner (2006)Geo-ModDescent 4 (Cancelled)1998/2001Red Faction (2001), Red Faction II (2002) Real Virtuality Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis 2001 VBS1 (2002), ArmA: Armed Assault (2007), ARMA II (2009) Cube Engine Cube 2001 AssaultCube (2008)Chrome Engine 1Survival: The Ultimate Challenge2001Chrome (2003), Chrome SpecForce (2005), Terrorist Takedown: Covert Operations (2006), Terrorist Takedown: War in Colombia (2006) Blam Engine Halo: Combat Evolved 2001 Halo 2 (2004), Stubbs the Zombie (2005)Secret Service: In Harm's Way2001 SAGE Command & Conquer: Renegade 2002AMP EngineGore: Ultimate Soldier2002Secret Service 2: Security Breach (2003) Unreal Engine 2 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), Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003), Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004), Unreal Tournament 2004 (2004), Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (2006, Xbox only), Killing Floor (2009)Turok: Evolution2002 Refractor 2 Battlefield 1942 2002 Battlefield Vietnam (2004), Battlefield 2 (2005), Battlefield 2142 (2006) Lithtech Jupiter No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way 2002 Tron 2.0 (2003), Contract J.A.C.K. (2003), Combat Arms (2008)Eurocom Engine (007: Nightfire)James Bond 007: Nightfire (Console Only) 2002Treyarch NGLSpider-Man2002Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (2005), Call of Duty 3 (PlayStation 2/Xbox Only)LS3D engineHidden & Dangerous 22002Mafia (2002)JADE EngineBeyond Good & Evil2003Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game Of The Movie (PlayStation 2/GameCube/PSP/Xbox)GamebryoCall of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (2005)2003BlackShot (2008), Fallout 3 (2008), Fallout New Vegas (2010)Breakdown (Xbox)2004ArgonMortyr 2: For Ever2004Killzone2004Project Snowblind2005Entropy EngineArea 51 (2005 video game)2005Red Storm Engine 2.0Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown2005Serious Engine 2Serious Sam II (Xbox)2005Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Critical Hour2006Urban Chaos: Riot Response2006

Mid 2000s: Dynamic Per-Pixel Lighting, High-Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting, Global Illumination, Multi-Threaded CPU, Advanced Physics, fully programmable shader implementation/pipeline