AssaultCube
Overview
AssaultCube is a free, multiplayer first-person shooter built on the classic Cube engine. Matches take place in realistic urban environments with fast, arcade-style gameplay, and the game deliberately stays out of the way of the action: the whole package is only about 50 MB, games remain playable even over a slow 56 Kbps connection, and the engine still runs on Pentium III-class hardware.
Although the main focus is online multiplayer, a single-player mode with computer-controlled bots is included, so you can learn the maps and weapon handling offline.
Key Features
- Fast, low-latency multiplayer FPS with modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, One-Shot-One-Kill, Pistol Frenzy and Last Swiss Standing
- Built-in co-operative map editor — create and edit maps in real time with other players
- Single-player skirmish against configurable computer bots
- Demo recording and playback for reviewing and sharing matches
- Very small footprint (around 50 MB, with individual maps averaging ~20 KB) and efficient bandwidth usage
- Runs on modest hardware — Pentium III and above with the right settings
- Source code released under a zlib-like open-source licence
Why Use It
AssaultCube strips the FPS formula back to what matters: quick rounds, low ping and a tiny install. There is no launcher, no store and no account — download it, join a server and play. Because the bandwidth and hardware requirements are so low, it works on old laptops, thin clients and slow connections where modern shooters are simply unplayable. The bundled map editor and bot mode mean you can build and test your own arenas without leaving the game.
Use Cases
- Casual online arena shooting with friends over the internet or on a LAN
- Turning an old or low-spec PC into a playable games machine
- Learning basic FPS level design with the built-in editor and its co-operative edit mode
- A lightweight LAN-party game that runs across mixed Windows, Linux and macOS hardware
Platforms
Officially supported: Windows (2000 through 11), Linux and macOS 10.6+ (64-bit). Unofficial ports exist for other systems.
Licence
Open source (source code). The AssaultCube source code is published under a zlib-like open-source licence, with the full source in the official repository. One packaging nuance worth knowing: the distributed game package is freeware — you may use and redistribute it unmodified for non-commercial purposes — and individual media assets inside it carry their own terms (parts of the website and documentation, for example, are licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0). See the official licensing page before reusing assets.
Similar open-source FPS games
- Warfork — fast-paced arena FPS built on the Qfusion engine
- Unvanquished — aliens-versus-humans shooter that blends FPS with light real-time strategy