I remember playing that in the mid - late 90s as shareware. That page says 1999 but I'm sure it was released waaay before that.

It was the most "arcade like" space shooter that I could find for the PC.

Good to know it is still available as abandonware.

Edit: Tyrian came out earlier, but Tyrian 2000 came out in 1999 which seems to be basically the same game with some extra content.