Every id Software Game: From Wolfenstein to Doom and Beyond

After getting their start at developer Softdisk in the late 1980s, Joan and Adrian Carmack, along with John Romero and Tom Hall, would form id Software. Initially getting their start developing some of the more beloved action platformers on MS-DOS, id Software would eventually break new ground in the realm of first-person video games with early FPS titles like Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3-D before single-handedly creating the modern first-person shooter via two now-legendary games: Wolfenstein 3D and 1993's Doom. The rest, as they say, is history. But while id Software is primarily known as the house that Doom built, it's worth pointing out that the company has a long and rich history of diverse titles that go beyond its sci-fi horror FPS juggernaut.

• Release Date — December 14, 1990
• Publisher — Apogee Software
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

Developed while id Software's founders were still employees at Softdisk (who would later help publish many of their games), Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons is an incredibly important stepping stone for the fledgling company. Not only would it be the first game in a long-running series of beloved MS-DOS platformers, it would help earn id Software notoriety as one of the few computer game developers capable of creating action platformers that could hold their own against the genre's highlights on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

• Release Date — 1991
• Publisher — Softdisk
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

Following the more family-friendly first entry in the Commander Keen series, id Software would develop and release its next game, Shadow Knights, just a few months later. The engine used for Shadow Knights would also end up serving as the engine for another beloved id Software title, and Shadow Knights is genuinely considered to be a competent Ninja Gaiden-style action platformer on MS-DOS computers.

• Release Date — April 1991
• Publisher — Softdisk
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

Considered to be one of the first "true" 3D first-person shooters, Hovertank 3D was an incredibly groundbreaking title for its time. At the time of its development, Hovertank 3D took more work than any previous id Software game, with that work ultimately paying off in Hovertank's engine serving as the basis for both Catacomb and Wolfenstein 3D.

• Release Date — 1991
• Publisher — Softdisk
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — Mobile, PC

Developed using the Shadow Knights engine, Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion is a horror-themed action platformer/shooter hybrid that remains an early favorite of many players who grew up with it. While the general gameplay is fairly standard in comparison to other action platformers of the era (complete with clearing rooms of enemies while climbing up and down ladders and navigating perilous platforms), the title's horror atmosphere and aesthetic would ultimately become an id Software trademark.

• Release Date — 1991
• Publisher — Softdisk
• Genre — Puzzle
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

The first of a pair of puzzle games produced by id Software, Rescue Rover would end up being another fairly popular shareware game from id Software and Softdisk. Players must help their on-screen characters navigate dangerous mazes to reach each level's exit, and Rescue Rover features some bright and colorful visuals that help clearly identify it as another game from the Commander Keen developers.

• Release Date — 1991
• Publisher — Softdisk
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — Android, PC, Nintendo Switch

The second major installment in the Commander Keen series, Commander Keen in Keen Dreams is one of the few titles in id Software's classic platformer franchise to get a release on modern hardware. However, it's also an outlier in the Commander Keen series for its gameplay, which does away with core elements from the first three episodes, such as using a raygun to shoot enemies and a pogo stick to jump on hard-to-reach platforms.

• Release Date — 1991
• Publisher — Softdisk
• Genre — Puzzle
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

The second game in the Rescue Rover series is, by all accounts, more of what players experienced in the original puzzle game, albeit with new maze-like levels to navigate.

• Release Date — November 1991
• Publisher — Softdisk
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

Following John Carmack's extensive research and work on the groundbreaking Hovertank 3D game engine, he would set out to iterate upon it by adding texture mapping, ultimately paving the way for the equally pivotal Catacomb 3-D. While Catacomb is an early first-person title, it's less of a shooter and more of a first-person dungeon crawler. But like Hovertank, the work done on Catacomb would provide the foundation for id Software's influential games like Wolfenstein and Doom.

• Release Date — December 15, 1991
• Publisher — Apogee Software
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

Following the departure that was Commander Keen in Keen Dreams, the series returned to both its roots and its original publisher with Commander Keen in Goodbye Galaxy. While the gameplay in Goodbye Galaxy is a more refined version of what players had come to love about the series up to that point, the title didn't sell as well as previous entries, in part due to its being split into two separate games rather than a full three-episode saga like the other Commander Keen titles.

• Release Date — December 1991
• Publisher — FormGen
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

Developed concurrently with Commander Keen in Goodbye Galaxy, Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Babysitter was originally supposed to be the third episode of Goodbye Galaxy before growing in size and scope to justify it being its own standalone title. It's the final game in the short-lived Commander Keen series that helped id Software gain its footing as a developer.

• Release Date — May 5, 1992
• Publisher — Apogee Software, GT Interactive, Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim) - MS-DOS Original
• Platforms — 3DO, Game Boy Advance, iOS, Atari Jaguar, PC, PSN, SNES, Web Browser, Xbox Live Arcade

Considered to be the foundational first step toward the modern first-person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D was a groundbreaking title for id Software that took the work John Carmack had done on titles like Hovertank and Catacomb and refined it into something more responsive and satisfying to play. Funnily enough, the more violent theme and subject matter of Wolfenstein 3D would be a suggestion from id Software's John Romero, who would also work with Carmack on the paradigm-shifting Doom.

• Release Date — 1993
• Publisher — Softdisk
• Genre — Mahjong
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

Often referred to as one of the "lost" id Software games, thanks to it releasing in-between the more historically important and commercially successful Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, Tiles of the Dragon is a fairly standard solitaire Mahjong game that would launch exclusively for MS-DOS computers as a shareware title.

• Release Date — December 10, 1993
• Publisher — id Software, GT Interactive
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable) - MS-DOS Original
• Platforms — 32X, 3DO, Game Boy Advance, iOS, Atari Jaguar, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, Sega Saturn, SNES, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360

Arguably one of the most important video games to ever release, Doom is id Software's pivotal first-person shooter that is responsible for both creating and popularizing the modern FPS. After all, there's a reason that first-person shooters were referred to as "Doom clones" for years. Doom originally released as a free shareware title until demand for the floppy disks forced id Software to partner with a publisher for the game's full release, with Doom going on to become one of the most successful games of its time.

• Release Date — October 10, 1994
• Publisher — id Software, GT Interactive
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable) - MS-DOS Original
• Platforms — Game Boy Advance, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Xbox 360

The success of Doom encouraged John Carmack and John Romero to quickly produce a sequel, which the pair did just a year later with Doom II. Continuing the story of the original Doom, Doom II sees the demon invasion of Mars finally make its way to Earth and introduces plenty of new weapons for players to use in dealing with the many new horrifying threats.

• Release Date — June 22, 1996
• Publisher — id Software, GT Interactive
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — Mobile, Nintendo 64, PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn

Much like it had done with both Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, id Software would once again evolve the first-person shooter genre with 1996's Quake. But instead of its evolutions solely resting on a new graphics engine (which it had) or an excellent, genre defining campaign (which it also had), Quake would instead serve as one of the first FPS titles to popularize competitive online play through LAN (or, later, modem), with its trademark game mode, Deathmatch, becoming the commonly used term for similar modes in other first-person shooters.

• Release Date — December 9, 1997
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Nintendo 64, PC, PlayStation, Xbox 360

While Quake II didn't necessarily reinvent the wheel in the same way as other id Software games, it's still an excellent first-person shooter whose campaign was leaps and bounds better than its predecessor. And, of course, Quake II's multiplayer would prove to be just as fun and addictive as the original Quake's, prompting id Software to focus solely on that aspect for its next title.

• Release Date — December 5, 1999
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS, Arena Shooter
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Dreamcast, PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360

The final game in the Quake series to be developed by id Software before it passed the reins off to Raven Software, Quake III is yet another groundbreaking FPS title, even with it being entirely multiplayer-focused. Considered to be one of the first "Arena Shooters" along with contemporaries like Unreal Tournament, the movement and shooting in Quake III were faster and more precise than anything the genre had seen up to that point, and many games in the genre still use Arena as the gold-standard for how precision and movement-based FPS titles should feel.

• Release Date — August 3, 2004
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS, Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Android, PC, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360

Following almost a decade of exclusively working on Quake, id Software would return to Doom with the long-awaited Doom 3 in 2004. Part sequel and part reboot of the original game, Doom 3 blends elements of survival horror with its first-person shooting, ultimately leading to the title being slower-paced and more methodical than you might expect given its two predecessors.

• Release Date — September 19, 2005
• Publisher — JAMDAT
• Genre — FPS, RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — Mobile

Right as mobile devices were beginning to become popular platforms for gaming, id Software would develop the first of three turn-based RPGs set in their FPS universes with Doom RPG. Just like its name implies, Doom RPG blends elements of the 1993 classic with the turn-based combat and progression of an RPG to create a unique spin on the series.

• Release Date — May 9, 2006
• Publisher — EA Mobile, Electronic Arts
• Genre — Adventure, RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Nintendo DS, Mobile

The first fantasy first-person shooter from id Software since the foundational Catacomb 3-D, Orcs & Elves is a fairly solid first-person action adventure game that originally released for mobile devices before making its way to the Nintendo DS.

• Release Date — December 3, 2007
• Publisher — EA Mobile
• Genre — Adventure, RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — Mobile

Despite the original Orcs & Elves' favorable critical response, Electronic Arts would opt for id Software's sequel to release exclusively on mobile devices, ultimately trapping the title there thanks to its lack of a console port. Like its predecessor, Orcs & Elves II blends elements of a dungeon-crawling action RPG with first-person combat.

• Release Date — September 30, 2008
• Publisher — EA Mobile
• Genre — FPS, RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — iOS, Mobile

The second mobile title in id Software's RPG versions of its popular FPS franchises would be Wolfenstein RPG. But unlike the original Doom RPG, Wolfenstein RPG would get a fan-made PC port that allows it to be played on modern hardware.

• Release Date — November 23, 2009
• Publisher — EA Mobile
• Genre — FPS, RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — iOS, Mobile

The last of the RPG versions of id Software's FPS titles, Doom II RPG continues much of what made both Doom RPG and Wolfenstein RPG great, albeit in the context of Doom II's story. Like Wolfenstein RPG, a fan-requested port has allowed Doom II RPG to be playable on modern hardware.

• Release Date — August 6, 2010
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

A re-release of Quake III Arena, Quake Live contains all the classic multiplayer modes from that groundbreaking arena shooter, but adds in some quality-of-life touches to make the online experience more functional. While Quake Live was originally a free-to-play game, it has since been released as a standalone title on storefronts like Steam.

• Release Date — November 18, 2010
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 70% (Mixed or Average)
• Platforms — iOS

An iPhone-exclusive tie-in game to help promote the release of Rage, Rage: Mutant Bash TV is a short but sweet mobile title that does a good job of enticing players to experience the full game. It's one of the few id Software mobile titles to never receive a port to another platform and is mostly a historical curiosity.

• Release Date — October 4, 2011
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Billed as the "next big thing" from id Software after years spent working on Quake and Doom, Rage would end up being a victim of its own hype. While it has some ambitious elements related to exploration and its semi-open world, Rage is still just another first-person shooter. However, the best thing to come out of Rage was id Software's newest engine, which would end up serving as the framework for the modern Doom reboot.

• Release Date — May 13, 2016
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

After a failed start on Doom 4 and 5 years in development, the next Doom game would arrive in 2016 and breathe new life into the classic series. 2016's Doom (stylized as "DOOM") is a fast-paced, momentum-based take on the classic Doom formula where players use "push-forward" combat and mobility to stay ahead of deadly waves of enemies. As the first chapter in a new trilogy of Doom games, and as a standalone entry in the Doom series, DOOM is undoubtedly one of id Software's crowning achievements.

• Release Date — December 1, 2017
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS, Virtual Reality
• Review Aggregate Score — 71% (Mixed or Average)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4

Just a year after the launch of 2016's Doom reboot, id Software would produce a VR-exclusive version of the title's campaign as DOOM VFR. Not quite a 1:1 replica of the console version and not quite its own standalone, unique experience, DOOM VFR is nonetheless a competent (if not repetitive) take on the Doom reboot using a VR headset.

• Release Date — May 14, 2019
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

One of the few low points in id Software's catalog, Rage 2 attempted to deliver on the unfulfilled promise of the original Rage, but mostly ended up being an exercise in frustration. Compared to the modern Doom trilogy, Rage 2 doesn't even feel like it was made by the same studio.

• Release Date — March 20, 2020
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Released 4 years after the 2016 reboot of Doom, Doom Eternal presents one of the most mechanically complex and satisfying combat sandboxes that id Software has ever created. Many of the mechanics from DOOM return, only they're bolstered by a new weapon swap mechanic, greater emphasis on constant motion, and a slew of new abilities that turn every encounter into a thrilling exchange with some truly challenging enemies.

• Release Date — August 18, 2022
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

The free-to-play Quake Champions is the latest game in the long-running series and the second title to revamp Quake III Arena after Quake Live. However, this time around, the classic Quake III gameplay has been reimagined using a modified version of the id Tech 6 engine used for the 2016 Doom reboot.

• Release Date — May 15, 2025
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

The latest game in the modern Doom trilogy releases later this week, and is, by all accounts, a sort of return to form that skews closer to 2016's DOOM than 2020's Doom Eternal. This time around, there's a greater emphasis on pressing enemies and leaning into their attacks thanks to a new shield parry mechanic, which seems to transform how the Doom Slayer approaches each encounter.