''Dungeon Keeper'' is a series of strategy video games released by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

. Two games were developed by

Bullfrog Productions Bullfrog Productions Limited was a British video game developer based in Guildford, England. Founded in 1987 by Peter Molyneux and Les Edgar, the company gained recognition in 1989 for their third release, ''Populous (video game), Populous'', ...

for the PC in the late 1990s, and a third was in development but was cancelled before release. A Chinese MMO was in development from 2008–2013 and achieved open beta release, but was cancelled before full launch. A free-to-play game for Android and

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

was developed by Mythic Entertainment and released in 2013.

Games in the series

''Dungeon Keeper'' (1997)

''Dungeon Keeper'' was released in June 1997. It used a modified version of the

Magic Carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its user(s) to their destination. In literature On ...

game engine.

''Dungeon Keeper 2'' (1999)

''Dungeon Keeper 2'' was released in June 1999. It used a new game engine that natively supported

hardware acceleration Hardware acceleration is the use of computer hardware designed to perform specific functions more efficiently when compared to software running on a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU). Any transformation of data that can be calcula ...

. Its predecessor supported

Direct3D Direct3D is a graphics application programming interface (API) for Microsoft Windows. Part of DirectX, Direct3D is used to render three-dimensional graphics in applications where performance is important, such as games. Direct3D uses hardware ...

but only with an alternative executable. The sequel also used full- 3D models for the creatures and enemies, rather than sprites.

''Dungeon Keeper'' (2014)

In August 2013, EA and Mythic Entertainment announced that they were creating a "twisted take" on ''Dungeon Keeper'' for both Android and

mobile devices with a release date set for winter of the same year. On 10 October 2013, ''Dungeon Keeper Mobile'' soft-launched on

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

and

iOS App Store The App Store is an app marketplace developed and maintained by Apple, for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS SDK. Apps can be download ...

. The game has faced

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative or positive qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the ...

due to its use of microtransactions and wait times, with

Peter Molyneux Peter Douglas Molyneux (; born 5 May 1959) is an English video game designer and programmer. He created the god games '' Populous'', ''Dungeon Keeper'', and '' Black & White'', as well as ''Theme Park'', the ''Fable'' series, '' Curiosity: Wh ...

, the original creator, even saying that it ruined the fun aspects of ''Dungeon Keeper''. The game has also faced controversy due to EA's habit of censoring reviews that are lower than 5 stars.

Cancelled games

''Dungeon Keeper 3''

''Dungeon Keeper 3'' was in development in 2000, but was cancelled later that year. Some ''Dungeon Keeper 2'' CDs contained a trailer showing some features of ''Dungeon Keeper 3''; among them were above-land battles. One member of

stated on his personal website that ''Dungeon Keeper 3'' was going to be named ''War for the Overworld''. The project was discontinued because, according to developer Ernest W. Adams, Bullfrog had decided not to make any other real-time strategy games. The decision was, in effect, the end of Bullfrog as a brand; the company had already been owned by

for several years. EA laid off some employees and put the remainder onto other projects such as the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' line.

''Dungeon Keeper Online''

On 1 December 2008, NetDragonWebsoft Inc., a Chinese online game developer, announced it had partnered with

to develop a

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

based on the Dungeon Keeper license. The game was slated to appear only in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. A closed beta for the game was launched in 2011, followed by an open beta in 2012. The game never reached full release however, and the servers were closed down on December 20, 2013.

References

External links

* {{moby game, id=/dungeon-keeper, name=''Dungeon Keeper'' God games Electronic Arts franchises Real-time strategy video games Dungeon management games Video game franchises introduced in 1997