Jones was inspired by Sierra On-Line's adventure game interface, specifically as showcased in Space Quest IV.

The engine gained popularity with the release of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's Rob Blanc and Philip Reed's Larry Vales games in 2000-2001.

Version 3.0 in January 2008 included a complete rewrite of the editor using the .NET Framework and an update to the game engine to support 3D hardware acceleration.

[13] The AGS Awards were once an important barometer for indie adventure games, receiving coverage from sites like Destructoid,[14] Rock, Paper, Shotgun,[15][16] IndieGames[17][18] and GameSetWatch.

[23] Development teams AGD Interactive and Infamous Adventures have remade and updated King's Quest and other Sierra releases.