Since 1992, BZFlag has been creating an online multiplayer first-person shooter video game. The game was created mainly in C and C++ and is accessible on platforms like Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Solaris. The goal of the game is to use a tank to eliminate your opponents while avoiding your own destruction. The game has a variety of maps and game modes, and tanks can be outfitted with several weapons and abilities.

Chris Schoeneman rewrote it in C++ to enter an SGI competition after finishing it as a side project. Since then, a committed volunteer team has continued the project and made it available under an open-source license. At any given time of day, the game is thought to have 100 players digitally, though many more have downloaded and installed it.

Players of all skill levels enjoy the game, from those looking to pass the time to those seeking a friendlier, less violent community. Players have made some interesting maps, including a replica of Stonehenge and an entire European castle, and the game has an active forum and IRC channel.

BZFlag's custom game mode, which enables users to create their maps and game modes using the around editing tools, is one of its most distinctive features. The community has been able to produce a variety of original games and content thanks to this.

Several programming techniques were used by the game's developers to begin. While employed by Caldera Systems and searching for games to add to OpenLinux, Tim began developing the game. Between 1996 and 1997, Jeff worked on making the game run on Windows. After playing the game for a few months and realizing he would always be strong at it, Dave B began programming it. In 2000, David T started writing the second 3D world editor, and in 2001, he started working on BZFlag. Sean first became involved with the game in 2002 after downloading and playing it on MacOS X. He later joined IRC's developer community.

Over the years, the programmers have already encountered a number of difficulties. Keeping the game current and meaningful as technologies and platforms develop has been one of the biggest challenges. The game is an open-source project created by a group of volunteers, so the lack of time and resources to work on it has been another vital challenge. Due to the game's relatively large community in comparison to similar games of a similar nature, the developers have also mentioned how challenging it is to find and keep new developers and contributors.