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Microsoft Open-Sources Zork I–III Under MIT License

Microsoft formalizes an MIT-licensed release through upstream pull requests to historical repositories in collaboration with archivist Jason Scott.

Overview

  • The release covers only the games' source code, with trademarks, marketing materials, and commercial packaging excluded.
  • Each historical repository includes the original code, available documentation, and clear licensing and attribution metadata.
  • Microsoft frames the move as a preservation and education effort that welcomes small, well-documented community contributions.
  • The formal licensing resolves prior uncertainty around Jason Scott’s 2019 GitHub upload of the source.
  • The games remain commercially available on GOG, and the source can be built with modern Z‑Machine tools such as ZILF and run in current interpreters.