Early first-person shooter graphics engines
Early 1990s: wireframes to 2.5D worlds and textures
Game engine |
First used for |
Date |
Other first-person shooter |
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 |
|
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) |
Build |
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 |
Gloom |
1995 |
Gloom 2, Gloom 3, Gloom mods (1995-2015) |
AB3D |
Alien Breed 3D |
1995 |
|
AB3D2 |
Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds |
1996 |
|
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) |
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), Laser Arena (2000) |
SlaveDriver |
PowerSlave (Sega Saturn version) |
1996 |
Quake (1997, Sega Saturn version), Duke Nukem 3D (1997, Sega Saturn version) |
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 |
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), Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (2003), 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) |
GoldSrc |
Half-Life |
1998 |
|
Early 2000s: increasing detail, outdoor environments, rag-doll physics
Game engine |
First used for |
Date |
Other first-person shooters |
Refractor 2 |
Battlefield 1942 |
2002 |
Battlefield Vietnam (2004), Battlefield 2 (2005), Battlefield 2142 (2006) |
Glacier |
Hitman: Codename 47 |
2000 |
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002), Freedom Fighters (2003), Hitman: Contracts (2004), Hitman: Blood Money (2006) |
SAGE |
Command & Conquer: Renegade |
2002 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
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) |
CryEngine |
Far Cry |
2004 |
|
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 |
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) |
Diesel |
Ballistics |
2001 |
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (2006, PC version only), Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (2007, PC version only), Payday: The Heist (2011) |
Unity |
|
|
Deus Ex: The Fall (2013), Dead Effect (2013), Superhot (2016), Interstellar Marines (2013) |
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 Catalyst (2016) |
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) |
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), Enemy Front (2014) |
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 (2011) |
Real Virtuality 4 |
ArmA 3 |
2013 |
|
Diesel Engine 2.0 |
Payday 2 |
2013 |
Raid: World War II (TBA) |
CryEngine |
|
2013 |
Evolve (2015), Homefront: The Revolution (2016), Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 (2017) |
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 (2010) |
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) |
Tesseract |
Tesseract |
2014 |
Red Eclipse (2011) |
id Tech 6 |
Doom |
2016 |
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (2017) |
CryEngine V |
|
2016 |
Prey (2017) |
Unreal Engine 4 |
|
|
Space Hulk: Deathwing (2016), Unreal Tournament (TBA), LawBreakers (TBA), Dead Island 2 (TBA), Ark: Survival Evolved (2017), Abatron (TBA) |
Specialized engines/engine middle-ware
Some features may 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 integrated in the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine and the game Grand Theft Auto IV.
References
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Proprietary | |
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Historical | |
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Proprietary middleware | |
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