Dungeon Keeper is a strategy and management game by Bullfrog Productions, published by Electronic Arts for MS-DOS and Windows 95. It came out in North America on 27 June 1997 and in Europe on 3 July 1997. Peter Molyneux led development and designed the game with Mark Healey; Simon Carter was lead programmer.
Work began in November 1994 and took about two and a half years, and Alex Peters ported the game to Windows 95 in July 1996. Molyneux left Bullfrog in July 1997 to found Lionhead Studios. The Deeper Dungeons expansion followed on 26 November 1997, and the Gold Edition bundled it in 1998. Planned Saturn and PlayStation versions were cancelled.
In June 2014 The Guardian listed Dungeon Keeper among Britain's 30 greatest video games. The name was also reused for a 2014 mobile game by Mythic Entertainment.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Dungeon KeeperMS-DOS and Windows 95; the article body gives 26 June 1997. | MS-DOS | Jun 27, 1997 | Electronic Arts | 1 |
| EU | Dungeon KeeperAlso Australia. | MS-DOS | Jul 3, 1997 | Electronic Arts | 1 |
| JP | ダンジョンキーパーJapanese Wikipedia gives July 1997 without naming the Japanese publisher. | MS-DOS | 1997 | — | 2 |
| WW | Dungeon Keeper Gold EditionBundles The Deeper Dungeons and a desktop theme. | MS-DOS | 1998 | Electronic Arts | 1 |
| WW | Dungeon Keeper Gold | Windows | June 2011 | GOG.com | 1 |
| WW | Dungeon Keeper Gold | Mac | October 2012 | GOG.com | 1 |
| WW | Dungeon Keeper GoldSteam. | Windows | Mar 7, 2024 | Electronic Arts | 3 |
Also known as: Dungeon Keeper Gold WW1Dungeon Keeper Premium JP1ダンジョンキーパー JP2
Version differences
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ContentJapan
Japan got an exclusive expansion in November 1997 with harder Deeper Dungeons stages and other changes.2
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TextJapan
The Japanese version renames the Lair room to ねぐら ("den").2
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ContentGold Edition
Dungeon Keeper Gold Edition (1998) bundles The Deeper Dungeons expansion and a desktop theme.1
Translations
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Spanish Official
Electronic ArtsMS-DOSReleased
Dungeon Keeper Gold on Steam and GOG lists Spanish with full audio, alongside English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Swedish.3
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Japanese Official
—1997MS-DOSReleased
A Japanese version came out in 1997, with a renamed Lair room and a Japan-only expansion that November.2
Where to play legally today
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GOG Purchase
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Steam Purchase
Dungeon Keeper Gold
Dungeon Keeper with The Deeper Dungeons
Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com
How to run it today
Dungeon Keeper Gold, with The Deeper Dungeons, is sold on GOG (DOSBox, Windows and macOS, DRM-free) and on Steam (Windows). KeeperFX, a fan project started in 2010 and regularly updated since, extends the original game.
- KeeperFX keeperfx.net
Reception
Dungeon Keeper holds a 92% aggregate score on GameRankings and sold about 700,000 copies worldwide by 2003. It won PC Role-Playing Game of the Year at the first D.I.C.E. Awards, and PC Gamer placed it fourth in its 1997 top 100.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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