Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons is a side-scrolling platformer trilogy from Ideas from the Deep, the team that soon became id Software. Apogee Software released it on 14 December 1990: the first episode, Marooned on Mars, was shareware uploaded to BBSs, while The Earth Explodes and Keen Must Die! were sold by mail for US$30.
The game exists because of a technical trick. In September 1990 John Carmack developed adaptive tile refresh, which made smooth side-scrolling possible on IBM-compatible PCs. The team first recreated the opening level of Super Mario Bros. 3 and offered it to Nintendo, which declined. Tom Hall designed Keen, Carmack and John Romero programmed it, and Adrian Carmack joined as artist late in development.
Apogee's US$2,000 advance was the entire budget, and the game took about three months of nights and weekends while the team still worked at Softdisk. The first royalty check, for US$10,500, convinced them to leave, and id Software was founded on 1 February 1991.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Commander Keen 1: Marooned on MarsShareware episode uploaded to BBSs; episodes 2 and 3 sold by mail on floppy disks for US$30. | MS-DOS | Dec 14, 1990 | Apogee Software | 1 |
| WW | id AnthologyCompilation. | MS-DOS | 1996 | — | 1 |
| WW | Commander Keen (Apogee compilation)With Goodbye, Galaxy. | MS-DOS | 1998 | Apogee Software | 1 |
| WW | Commander Keen Combo CD | Windows | 2001 | 3D Realms | 1 |
| WW | Commander KeenSteam compilation (Commander Keen Complete Pack). | Windows | Aug 3, 2007 | Bethesda Softworks | 2 |
| WW | 3D Realms Anthology | Windows | 2014 | 3D Realms | 1 |
| WW | Commander Keen Complete PackGOG store release. | Windows | Feb 10, 2021 | — | 3 |
Also known as: Commander Keen WW2Commander Keen Complete Pack WW3Marooned on Mars WW1The Earth Explodes WW1Keen Must Die! WW1
Version differences
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ContentSharewareRegistered
Only episode 1, Marooned on Mars, was shareware; episodes 2 and 3 came as a mail-order set of floppy disks for US$30.1
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GameplayEpisode 1Episode 2Episode 3
Each episode adds new mechanics: the pogo stick in episode 1, moving platforms and bridge switches in episode 2, and ankhs that give temporary invulnerability in episode 3.1
Where to play legally today
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GOG Purchase
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Steam Purchase
Commander Keen
Compilation of the Commander Keen episodes
Checked: 2026-10-132store.steampowered.com
How to run it today
The original DOS game runs on modern computers through a DOS emulator; the Steam and GOG compilations come ready to play on Windows.1
Reception
The game made about US$30,000 in its first two weeks, when Apogee usually sold around US$7,000 a month, and by June 1991 it was earning over US$60,000 a month. Scott Miller estimated in 2009 that the trilogy sold 50,000–60,000 copies; in October 1992 the series won Best Entertainment Software and Best Overall at the Shareware Industry Awards.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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