December 10, 1993 · Game

Doom (1993)

id Software. Shareware episode uploaded to the internet.

Doom was released as shareware on December 10, 1993 and was an overnight phenomenon. id made about $100,000 in daily revenue early on, and by June 1996 the shareware had been downloaded 20 million times. By late 1995 it was estimated to be installed on more computers than Windows 95, and all versions sold roughly 3.5 million copies by 1999. It required a 386 with 4 MB RAM and VGA, which pushed a generation of PC upgrades. PC Gamer US called it the best computer game of all time in August 1994. It was later ported to nearly every platform, and the source code was released under the GPL in 1999. The Library of Congress selected it for preservation in 2007.

See 1993 in the interactive timeline

Facts

Date: December 10, 1993
Kind: Game
Maker or publisher: id Software
Genre: First-person shooter
Platform: MS-DOS
Engine: Doom engine (id Tech 1)
Designer: John Romero, Tom Hall, Sandy Petersen
Platforms: DOS, Linux, Mac, 32X, Jaguar, PC-98, SNES, PlayStation, 3DO, Windows, Saturn, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360, iOS, PS3, Android, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S