Wolfenstein 3D is a first-person shooter developed by id Software and released for MS-DOS on 5 May 1992, with the shareware episodes published by Apogee Software. FormGen published the prequel Spear of Destiny on 18 September 1992. John Romero and Tom Hall designed the game, John Carmack and John Romero programmed it, and Adrian Carmack drew every enemy sprite at eight angles in Deluxe Paint II. id had bought the Wolfenstein trademark in April 1992 for US$5,000.
It was the first shareware title to win a Codie award, which made six-person id the smallest company to receive one. The game even hides a Pac-Man level. id released the engine's source code in 1995, and how easily the game could be modified shaped the design of Doom and Quake.
Germany banned it in 1994 over its Nazi symbols; the ban was reversed in 2018. Ports followed on Super NES, Atari Jaguar, Mac, 3DO, Game Boy Advance and later Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Wolfenstein 3DShareware: the first episode free. | MS-DOS | May 5, 1992 | Apogee Software | 1 |
| NA | Spear of DestinyRetail prequel on the same engine. | MS-DOS | Sep 18, 1992 | FormGen | 1 |
| NA | Wolfenstein 3D | SNES | February 1994 | — | 1 |
| NA | Wolfenstein 3DAtari Jaguar. | Other | May 1994 | — | 1 |
| NA | Wolfenstein 3D | Mac | December 1994 | — | 1 |
| NA | Wolfenstein 3D3DO. | Other | Oct 19, 1995 | — | 1 |
| NA | Wolfenstein 3D | Game Boy Advance | April 2002 | — | 1 |
| JP | Wolfenstein 3D: The Claw of EisenfaustImagineer bought the rights and commissioned the port. | SNES | Feb 10, 1994 | Imagineer | 1 |
| JP | Wolfenstein 3D | PC-98 | 1994 | — | 1 |
| WW | Wolfenstein 3DSteam release. | Windows | Aug 3, 2007 | Bethesda Softworks | 2 |
| WW | Wolfenstein 3D | iOS | Mar 25, 2009 | — | 1 |
| WW | Wolfenstein 3DXbox Live Arcade; PlayStation 3 (PSN) version on 4 June 2009. | Xbox 360 | Jun 3, 2009 | — | 1 |
Also known as: Wolfenstein 3D: The Claw of Eisenfaust JP1Spear of Destiny WW1
Box art by region
NA Wolfenstein 3D
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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CensorshipSNES
At Nintendo's request the Super NES version removed blood (first made green, then cut), Nazi imagery and German voice clips, and replaced the guard dogs with giant rats.1
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GameplaySNES
The Super NES version adds three new weapons and a scoring system.3
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GameplayAtari Jaguar
John Carmack's Jaguar port undoes Nintendo's changes and improves graphics and sound, but the game had to be slowed down to run properly.1
Where to play legally today
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GOG Purchase
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Steam Purchase
How to run it today
The GOG.com edition includes Spear of Destiny and comes packaged with DOSBox, so it runs on Windows without extra setup.4
Reception
Wolfenstein 3D sold about 250,000 copies by 1995, bringing in roughly $2.5 million; the Apogee episodes and Spear of Destiny each passed 100,000 units by the end of 1993. Dragon gave it 5 out of 5. The early Super NES and Jaguar ports were well reviewed but sold poorly.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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