# Kingpin: Life of Crime
**Kingpin: Life of Crime** is a first-person shooter developed by Xatrix Entertainment and published by Interplay, first released for PC in June 1999. The player controls a street thug who, after being beaten by the goons of the title character, builds a gang and fights through a decaying urban world to take revenge on the Kingpin.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/) • [2](https://www.mobygames.com/game/1345/kingpin-life-of-crime/) The game became known for its profanity and violence, shipped with unusually heavy disclaimers, and was Xatrix's final release before the studio dissolved.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/) • [4](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/reviews/158929)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer / publisher | Xatrix Entertainment; Interplay Inc.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/) |
| Release | June 1999 for PC; GameSpot lists first release June 28, 1999, and the fan site kingpin.info records a shipping date of June 28, 1999[5](https://www.gamespot.com/games/kingpin-life-of-crime/) • [6](https://www.kingpin.info/?p=birthday) |
| Engine | An enhanced version of the Quake II engine[7](https://kingpin.info/?p=drew-markham-01-20) |
| Genre | First-person shooter with gang-recruitment and cash-management mechanics[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/) |
| Multiplayer | 16-player deathmatch and team play via LAN or Internet, plus the Bagman team mode[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/) • [3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/) |
| Rating | ESRB Mature (17+)[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/) |
| Reception | GameSpot 7.3/10 (Good); MobyGames critic average 81% from 32 ratings; Steam user reviews Very Positive at 81% of 454 reviews[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/) • [8](https://www.mobygames.com/game/1345/kingpin-life-of-crime/reviews/) • [1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/) |
| Remaster | Kingpin: Reloaded, released December 5, 2023 by Slipgate Ironworks and 3D Realms[9](https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?enddate=1701799500&feed=steam_community_announcements) |
## Gameplay
The plot is a revenge story: some of the Kingpin's goons beat the player character, who then works his way up through a bleak, industrial city to confront the boss.[2](https://www.mobygames.com/game/1345/kingpin-life-of-crime/) • [10](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/reviews/178655) The player recruits gang members from the street by talking to them once enough cash is on hand, then issues orders such as attack, defend, or safe-cracking.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/) • [11](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/faqs/29917) Money looted from defeated enemies, recovered by crouching and searching bodies, is spent on weapons and items at the in-game Pawn-o-matic.[11](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/faqs/29917) • [12](https://www.kingpin.info/download/kingpin/manual/official/user_manual.pdf)
Holstering a weapon matters: entering new areas with the weapon down signals non-hostility to bystanders, which lets the player talk rather than fight.[11](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/faqs/29917) Listed features include 16-player multiplayer over LAN or Internet and location-specific damage, allowing shots to a target's kneecaps or head.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/)
## Development and engine
Xatrix built the game on an enhanced version of id Software's Quake II engine, a technology the team already knew from developing [The Reckoning](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-reckoning), the official [Quake II](https://www.edgepedia.org/quake-ii) mission pack.[7](https://kingpin.info/?p=drew-markham-01-20) • [13](https://www.kingpin.info/download/kingpin/media/magazine/Retro_Gamer_Issue_178_%28UK%29_2018-06-01.pdf) Xatrix's previous game was the first-person shooter Redneck Rampage, and Kingpin was its follow-up.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/) Xatrix CEO Drew Markham provided the voice of the Kingpin himself, a mob boss modeled on [Ving Rhames](https://www.edgepedia.org/ving-rhames).[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/)
The developers cited film as an influence. Dialogue was inspired by, and sometimes lifted from, [Pulp Fiction](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulp-fiction), and one enemy called The Jesus screams lines from [The Big Lebowski](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-big-lebowski). Erik Wolpaw, reviewing for GameSpot, wrote that these pop-culture borrowings occasionally gave the game the feel of an amateur novelty mod, while the plot structure owed more to 1980s side-scrolling beat-'em-ups.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/)
## Controversy and release context
Kingpin arrived at a sensitive moment. The retail package carried an age statement, content warnings, and an editorial on youth violence and responsible parenting written by Drew Markham; GameSpot called it the most disclaimers of any game ever released.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/)
The content itself centered on profanity and gore. The Los Angeles Times' Aaron Curtiss noted that within the first minute the f-word appeared as nearly every [part of speech](https://www.edgepedia.org/part-of-speech), and that players were rewarded for looting the corpses of rival hoodlums, while judging the game a lot of fun for its intended adult audience.[14](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-19-fi-1586-story.html) A low-violence install option bleeped out the swearing, producing dialogue that was a string of beeps punctuated by words such as "mother," "you," and "yourself."[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/)
## Reception
Critical response was moderately positive. GameSpot scored the game 7.3 out of 10, calling it a decent shooter overshadowed by its own prerelease infamy, with intense gunplay but weaknesses that kept it short of a landmark like Half-Life.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/) MobyGames records a critic average of 81 percent based on 32 ratings, and player reviews averaging 3.5 out of 5.[8](https://www.mobygames.com/game/1345/kingpin-life-of-crime/reviews/) Retrospective player opinion has been warmer: the original game holds a Very Positive rating on Steam, with 81 percent of 454 user reviews positive.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/) Common criticisms include the thin revenge plot and weapons such as the grenade launcher, which one GameFAQs reviewer called the single most useless weapon ever created in a video game.[10](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/reviews/178655)
## Kingpin: Reloaded
It launched on Steam on December 5, 2023. The original source code had been lost, so the team reverse engineered the entire game and combined [Unity](https://www.edgepedia.org/unity-game-engine) with the original assets to build a new engine.[9](https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?enddate=1701799500&feed=steam_community_announcements) The remaster added a quest journal, controller support with auto-aim, new weapon and dialogue wheels, upscaled handcrafted textures, and an unlockable Hardcore Mode without HUD or inventory, and it included the original [Cypress Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/cypress-hill) soundtrack.[9](https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?enddate=1701799500&feed=steam_community_announcements) Multiplayer was not available in Reloaded at launch; players were directed to the original 1999 version for online play.[9](https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?enddate=1701799500&feed=steam_community_announcements)
Reloaded's reception was poor. Post-launch patches continued into late 2025, with version 1.08 reprogramming the save and load system and invalidating previous save files.[15](https://steamcommunity.com/app/1224700/allnews/)
## References
1. [Kingpin — Life of Crime on Steam, Valve](https://store.steampowered.com/app/38430/Kingpin__Life_of_Crime/)
2. [Kingpin: Life of Crime (1999), MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/game/1345/kingpin-life-of-crime/)
3. [Kingpin: Life of Crime Review, Erik Wolpaw, GameSpot, July 14, 1999](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kingpin-life-of-crime-review/1900-2535622/)
4. [Kingpin: Life of Crime Review, GameFAQs user review](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/reviews/158929)
5. [Kingpin: Life of Crime, GameSpot game page](https://www.gamespot.com/games/kingpin-life-of-crime/)
6. [Birthday - Kingpin: Life of Crime, kingpin.info](https://www.kingpin.info/?p=birthday)
7. [Drew Markham interview, kingpin.info](https://kingpin.info/?p=drew-markham-01-20)
8. [Kingpin: Life of Crime reviews, MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/game/1345/kingpin-life-of-crime/reviews/)
9. [Kingpin: Reloaded is OUT NOW! Steam news, December 5, 2023](https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?enddate=1701799500&feed=steam_community_announcements)
10. [Kingpin: Life of Crime Review, GameFAQs user review](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/reviews/178655)
11. [Kingpin: Life of Crime - Guide and Walkthrough by DEngel, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197729-kingpin-life-of-crime/faqs/29917)
12. [Kingpin: Life of Crime instruction manual, kingpin.info](https://www.kingpin.info/download/kingpin/manual/official/user_manual.pdf)
13. [The Making of Kingpin, Retro Gamer Issue 178 (2018)](https://www.kingpin.info/download/kingpin/media/magazine/Retro_Gamer_Issue_178_%28UK%29_2018-06-01.pdf)
14. ['Kingpin': Glorious Gore for Action-Addicted Adults, Aaron Curtiss, Los Angeles Times, August 19, 1999](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-19-fi-1586-story.html)
15. [Kingpin: Reloaded news and patch notes, Steam Community](https://steamcommunity.com/app/1224700/allnews/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual PC and computer-platform game titles › Shooter game titles › Military and realistic shooters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license