MicroProse Software, Inc. (also known as MicroProse Simulation Software) was an American video game developer, founded in 1982 by Sid Meier and Bill Stealey. It is known as the publisher of the majority of Meier's hit computer games, such as Pirates, Silent Service, Railroad Tycoon, Civilization and for the sci-fi X-COM series.

History

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In the early 1980s, MicroProse was primarily known as a publisher of flight and military simulation titles for 8-bit home computers such as the Commodore 64, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit family. As the industry changed, it moved with it, supporting IBM PC compatibles and 68000-based machines like the Amiga and Atari ST. Also in the mid- to late-1980s, MicroProse began publishing a number of strategy games.

In 1990 and 1991 it released the blockbusters Railroad Tycoon and Civilization, which quickly became two of the best-selling strategy games of all time. However, the company quickly ran into financial trouble because it followed those releases with a large number of titles into a saturated market. It also made an unsuccessful venture into the creation of an arcade flight simulator.

MicroProse released Geoff Crammond's Formula One Grand Prix to adulation in 1991. The Amiga and Atari ST versions were released first, and the DOS version followed in early 1992. The game was considered the best Formula One sim to date.

In 1993, MicroProse was acquired by Spectrum Holobyte. Both brand names continued until 1996, when the combined company consolidated all of its titles under the MicroProse brand. Sid Meier and Jeff Briggs departed the company after the buyout, forming a new company called Firaxis Games.

In the summer of 1993, the UK office of MicroProse closed two satellite offices in the north of England, and disposed of over forty staff at its Chipping Sodbury head office, despite strong sales of European developed titles such as B17, developed in Leeds. Low quality expensively developed titles such as Harrier Jump Jet and of course the money contributed to the F-15 Strike Eagle arcade machine made sweeping cutbacks inevitable following the Spectrum Holobyte takeover.

A core group of disillusioned artists, designers and programmers left MicroProse UK to join Psygnosis, which opened an office in Stroud, UK, specifically to attract ex-MicroProse employees. The post-merger MicroProse in turn was acquired by Hasbro Interactive, a short-lived division of U.S. toy maker Hasbro, in 1998.

In 1999, Hasbro Interactive closed the former MicroProse studios in California and North Carolina. In 2001, after French game publisher Infogrames (now Atari) took over Hasbro Interactive, the label ceased to exist entirely, with remaining titles in its catalog being relabeled and re-released.

The last new game released with the MicroProse name was the UK version of Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4, in late 2002. MicroProse had during the 1990s had an office in Chipping Sodbury in the UK, which commissioned many games from smaller UK developers, including Grand Prix and Transport Tycoon. The MicroProse name was preserved on GP4 in the UK due to the respect it held amongst fans of racing simulation games. The game was only distributed by Atari, having been entirely developed by Crammond's company.

The history of MicroProse finally came to an end when, in November 2003, Atari Inc. closed its development studio in Hunt Valley, Maryland, which had been MicroProse's original location.

MicroProse also had a label called MicroStyle in the UK. This label released games like Rick Dangerous 2, Stunt Car Racer and Xenophobe. In the US the respective label was called MicroPlay.

Selected games

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• NATO Commander (1984)
• Solo Flight (1985)
• Silent Service (1985)
• F-15 Strike Eagle (1985)
• Gunship (1986)
• Kennedy Approach (1986)
• Pirates (1987)
• F-19 Stealth Fighter (1987)
• Airborne Ranger (1988)
• Red Storm Rising (1988 - 1990, on various hardware platforms)
• Sword of the Samurai (1989)
• M1 Tank Platoon (1989)
• F-15 Strike Eagle II (1989)
• Covert Action (1990)
• Lightspeed (1990)
• Railroad Tycoon (1990)
• Civilization (1991)
• Formula One Grand Prix aka World Circuit (1991)
• Gunship 2000 (1991)
• Darklands (1992)
• Islands & Ice (1992)
• Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender (1992)
• SubWar 2050 (1993)
• Starlord (1993)
• Harrier (Jump Jet) (1993)
• F-15 Strike Eagle III (1993)
• BloodNet (1993)
• Master Of Orion (1993)
• Master of Magic (1994)
• Colonization (1994)
• Pizza Tycoon (1994)
• UFO Defense (1994) In some countries the game was known as UFO Enemy Unknown
• Fleet Defender (1994)
• Dragonsphere (1994)
• Terror from the Deep (1995) Also known as XCOM2
• Return of the Phantom (1995)
• Transport Tycoon (1995)
• ''Grand Prix 2 (1996)
• 7th Legion (1997)
• European Air War (1998)
• Falcon 4.0 (1998)
• Risk II (1999)
• MechWarrior 3 (1999)
• Gunship! (2000)
• ''Grand Prix 3 (2000)
• ''Grand Prix 4 (2002)

External links

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• A listing of some of MicroProse's titles from the 1980s
• MobyGames' entry on MicroProse
• History of MicroProse at MobyGames
• MicroProse Miscellaneous Games Web Ring

MicroProse | MicroProse games | Home computer software companies | Defunct computer and video game companies | 1982 establishments | 2003 disestablishments

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