One of the first games made in the Build Engine is about to be delisted
Classic 1990s first-person slasher games Witchaven and Witchaven 2, developed by Capstone, are being delisted from digital storefronts. The games are currently on sale ahead of their removal, offering a final opportunity for players and collectors to purchase them.
While not among the most celebrated first-person slashers of the 1990s, the Witchaven series holds significant historical importance in gaming. The games were among the first titles developed using the Build Engine, the same technology that powered landmark games like Duke Nukem 3D. This makes them valuable artifacts for understanding the engine’s early implementation and evolution.
Witchaven draws loosely from a set of D&D dungeon maps created by Wyrm Works, casting players as a knight navigating a volcano filled with goblins, witches, and other enemies. The games emphasize melee combat, with players wielding a variety of weapons including morning stars, battle axes, and blades that degrade and break during use. While players also have access to ranged options like bows and spells, much of the gameplay revolves around close-quarters combat and weapon switching as equipment deteriorates—a common challenge in first-person melee games then and now.
The delisting of Witchaven and its sequel represents another chapter in the ongoing challenge of video game preservation. As licensing agreements expire or publishers decide to remove older titles from digital platforms, classic games risk becoming inaccessible to new players and researchers. The current promotional sale appears designed to allow interested players a final window to acquire these historically significant titles before they disappear from easy availability.