Microsoft releases the source code for Zork I, II, III

[thewayne]

There are several things interesting about Zork. It was one of the earliest imagination games that didn't have set winning conditions, instead you explored and tried to figure things out. It also was perhaps the first multi-platform games. They developed the Z-Machine, sort of a virtual environment that allowed the game to run on IBM Dos machines, Apple IIs, and others. That was extraordinarily revolutionary for the time!

And now you can download the source code for free. You can also download Z-Machine implementations for free. There's also CRT emulators that you can download if you really want to go 1980s old school!

And if you don't want to bother with all that, you can buy the game at Good Old Games for $6, but it's Windows-only.

One thing that I'm kind of curious about, though: when did Microsoft acquire the rights to Infocom IP? I don't recall that. While this is a cool thing for Microsoft to do, the source code for Zork and pretty much all the other Infocom games has been available for a few years, I downloaded them ages ago.

https://opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11/20/preserving-code-that-shaped-generations-zork-i-ii-and-iii-go-open-source

https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/20/1942250/microsoft-open-sources-classic-text-adventure-zork-trilogy

Comments

[disneydream06]

Not a gamer, so I don't think I have ever heard of Zork I, II, or III. lol...
Hugs, Jon

[thewayne]

They were classic computer exploration games.

[disneydream06]

I have missed out on so much. :o

[silveradept]

I think Microsoft acquired Infocom pretty early on, but I don't remember if it was by buying them directly or by acquiring a company that had already acquired Infocom. And since they haven't really done anything with it while they've had it, it's a good idea for Microsoft to release the source code for people to study and use themselves.

[thewayne]

I did a little digging, and Microsoft acquired Infocom's IP when they bought Activision/Blizzard!  Activision was the holder of Infocom's IP from some time ago.

[halfshellvenus]

Ahhh, Zork. Only played the beginning a few times, but it was a vivid experience. Kill the troll!