Perhaps it was the opportunity for people to destroy Nazis. Maybe it was the overwhelming difficulty of it all. Whatever the cause, Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny established the first shooting subgenre and earned their illustrious developers, id Software, widespread fame and several honours. In reality, Wolfenstein 3D was acknowledged by The Computer Game World Hall of Fame as having contributed to determining the general course of the computerized gaming business.

The first-person shooting video Game Wolfenstein 3D was created by id Software and released by Apogee Software and FormGen. It was the third entry in the Wolfenstein series and was initially published for DOS on May 5, 1992. Muse Software influenced the 1981 Castle Wolfenstein gameplay. In Wolfenstein 3D, the player takes on the character of Allied agent William "B.J." Blazkowicz, who emerges from the Nazi German prison Castle Wolfenstein and completes several vital operations against the Nazis during World War II. To advance to the next Level or defeat the Game's ultimate boss, the player must navigate each of the Game's stages while fending off Nazi troops, animals, and other foes with blades and a range of weaponry.

After the Commander Keen episodes, Wolfenstein 3D was id Software's second significant independent release. Developer John Carmack worked on creating a quick 3D gaming Engine in the middle of 1991 by limiting the action and viewpoint to a single aircraft, resulting in the prototypes Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3-D. Programmer John Romero proposed turning the 1981 stealth shooter Castle Wolfenstein into a quick-paced action Game after a design session forced the studio to go from the kid-friendly Keen to a more brutal theme. In contrast to other computer games at the time, he and designer Tom Hall constructed the Game using Carmack's Engine to be quick and brutal.

Adrian Carmack created the visuals for Wolfenstein 3D, and Bobby Prince composed the soundtrack and sound effects. The first instalment of the title was made available for free as part of Apogee's shareware model to pique interest in purchasing the other two sets of three episodes. Spear of Destiny, a different attack, was made available through FormGen as a standalone retail product.

One of the best electronic games ever created is Wolfenstein 3D, a financial and critical darling. By the end of 1995, it had won various accolades and sold over 250,000 copies. As the "grandfather of 3D shooters," it is credited with popularising the first-person shooter subgenre, setting the bar for technological capability and fast-paced action for many later games in the genre, and demonstrating the feasibility of the shareware distribution model at the time. For the Game, FormGen built two further episodes, and Apogee published a collection of over 800 fan-made levels. The Wolfenstein series was never revived by Id Software, although the Engine was licenced to several other games before being made freely available in 1995. Since 2001, various other Wolfenstein games have been created by independent developers.