How Fans Revived 'Infantry,' a 20-Year-Old 2D isometric shooter

The gaming industry has changed massively since the 90’s with digital distribution platforms such as Steam, GOG and itch.io providing developers with the tools and community needed to launch a game with the potential to instantly reach thousands of gamers without millions in funding.

Infantry was initially first released in the late ‘90s by the team behind space MMO Subspace. Noted as the world’s first massively multiplayer 2D isometric shooter, Infantry was recently revived by fans as “Free Infantry”.

Infantry’s unique MMO gameplay supported over 140,000 gamers, an unprecedented figure which undoubtedly placed it way ahead of its time.

At its peak Infantry was unlike any other game, it was seen as an innovator in the MMO industry by facilitating instantaneous battle for thousands of players around the globe, who connected with each over 28.8K modems.

“What sets Infantry apart is that it is more than one type of game,” remarks one of the developers from the Free Infantry project. “Players can build their own games and worlds within the framework provided by Infantry and have others play it immediately.”

“Returning players can feed their childhood nostalgia with the iconic zones we’ve brought back to life such as Twin Peaks and Bug Hunt. “We also have a new addition this time round named Zombie Zone, which utilizes artificial intelligence, something which was not on the original Free Infantry.”

In 2001, Infantry’s unique MMO gameplay supported over 140,000 gamers, an unprecedented figure which undoubtedly placed it way ahead of its time. But it was not without financial burden.

Harmless Games designed and released Infantry for pre-testing in December of 1997, led by its two creators Rod Humble and Jeff Petersen. Financial strains led to Harmless Games going through a series of acquisitions. In 2000, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) announced it’s own acquisition of Infantry for an undisclosed sum, with Humble and Petersen joining SOE as part of the agreement.

In 2002, SOE introduced a monthly subscription of $6.95 to play Infantry. Those who did not pay the subscription fee were only allowed to play for 30 minutes at a time. This was perceived by the community as the “final nail in the coffin”, causing a massive boycott of the game.

The next few years were unforgiving with Infantry’s player base dwindling from thousands of daily players to just hundreds. Unsurprisingly, SOE had little financial motivation in developing and promoting the game, which ultimately led to the game’s rapid decline.

Today, the Free Infantry community keeps the lights on and regularly develops new content for the returning and new fans of the game.