Shadow Warrior (1997 video game)

Shadow Warrior
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
GT Interactive
Designer(s)
  • Frank Maddin
  • Jim Norwood
Composer(s)Lee Jackson
SeriesShadow Warrior
EngineBuild
Platform(s)
Release
May 13, 1997
  • MS-DOS
    • WW: May 13, 1997 (Shareware)
    • WW: September 12, 1997 (Registered)
  • Mac OS
    • WW: October 1, 1997
  • Classic Complete
    • WW: November 15, 2012
  • iOS
    • WW: December 19, 2012
  • Classic
    • WW: May 29, 2013
  • Classic Redux
    • WW: July 8, 2013
    • WW: May 19, 2017 (Android)
  • 3D Realms Anthology Bundle
    • WW: October 23, 2014
    • WW: May 5, 2015 (Steam Edition)
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Shadow Warrior is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive. The shareware version was released for the PC on May 13, 1997,[1] while the full version was completed on August 25, 1997 and released in stores on September 16, 1997.[2] Shadow Warrior was developed using Ken Silverman's Build engine and improved on 3D Realms' previous Build engine game, Duke Nukem 3D. Mark Adams ported Shadow Warrior to Mac OS in August 1997.[3]

The game's improvements included introduction of true room-over-room situations,[4] the use of 3D voxels instead of 2D sprites for weapons and usable inventory items, transparent water, climbable ladders, and assorted vehicles to drive (some armed with weapons). Although violent, the game had its own sense of humor and contained some sexual themes. A combination of Shadow Warrior and Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition was published by GT Interactive in March 1998, titled East Meets West.[3]

In 2005, 3D Realms released the source code for Shadow Warrior (including compiled Build engine object code)[5] under the GPL-2.0-or-later license, which resulted in the first source port a day later on April 2, 2005.[6] In 2013, Devolver Digital announced the game would be free to obtain for a limited time on Steam.[7][8] Later, Devolver Digital announced that they would permanently offer the game for free.[9]

A reboot, also titled Shadow Warrior, was developed by Flying Wild Hog and published by Devolver Digital, launched on September 26, 2013.

  1. ^ "Shadow Warrior". 3D Realms. May 13, 1997.
  2. ^ "Online Gaming Review". February 7, 1998. Archived from the original on February 7, 1998. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Jebens, Harley (January 29, 1998). "Duke Teams With the Shadow". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  4. ^ "NG Alphas: Shadow Warrior". Next Generation. No. 26. Imagine Media. February 1997. pp. 107–8.
  5. ^ "Shadow Warrior (v1.2 CD Version) Source Code Release". 3D Realms. April 1, 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  6. ^ Siegler, Joe (April 1, 2005). "Shadow Warrior Source Code Released". 3D Realms. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  7. ^ @ShadowWarrior (May 29, 2013). "Shadow Warrior Classic (1997) is free on Steam for a limited time only. Follow and retweet, young grasshoppers" (Tweet). Retrieved January 7, 2016 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ @ShadowWarrior (May 29, 2013). "Sorry for the Facebook promo issue earlier - after it was exploited we decided to just make the game free to play for all. #ShadowWarrior" (Tweet). Retrieved January 7, 2016 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ @ShadowWarrior (May 29, 2013). "Looks like people are loving Shadow Warrior Classic (1997) so we'll just keep it F2P forever. Enjoy, retweet, and follow for more news!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 7, 2016 – via Twitter.