The current version supports Windows XP and later. The developer states that version 5.91 is the final one to support 16-bit Windows 6.35 is the last to support Windows 95, NT 4.0, 98, and ME. mIRC is shareware and requires payment for registration after the 30-day evaluation period.
The author states that its subsequent popularity allowed him to make a living out of mIRC. He then continued developing it due to the challenge and the fact that people appreciated his work. Mardam-Bey states that he decided to create mIRC because he felt the first IRC clients for Windows lacked some basic IRC features.
He began developing the software in late 1994, and released its first version on 28 February 1995. MIRC was created by Khaled Mardam-Bey ( Arabic: خالد مردم بي), a British programmer.