Shadow Warrior Classic now free-to-play on Steam

Shadow Warrior Classic, the updated version of 3D Realms' Shadow Warrior, is now available as a free-to-play title on Steam.

The promotion comes from developer Flying Wild Hog and publisher Devolver Digital, the companies that are collaborating for the upcoming "total reimagining" of Shadow Warrior, the 1997 first-person shooter. The remake will simply be called Shadow Warrior, and is set for release this year on Windows PC and next-generation consoles.

Flying Wild Hog and Devolver Digital originally released a Facebook app that dispensed Steam keys redeemable for free copies of Shadow Warrior Classic, but they shut it down after hackers broke into the app and stole all the keys. In response, the companies made the game free-to-play on Steam and said the promotion would run "for a limited time," which would not have given players permanent access — free-to-play titles on Steam disappear from your library once you uninstall them.

They later changed their minds, saying on Twitter, "Looks like people are loving Shadow Warrior Classic (1997) so we'll just keep it F2P forever." Shadow Warrior Classic is available on Windows PC and Mac.