Iconic Gamedev Studios of the 90s and How They Disappeared
The history of computer games isn't only about fondly-remembered titles and their sequels, but also about the studios and publishers behind them. Let's recall those most notable companies from the 1990s that, for various reasons, failed to survive.
Table of Contents
- Iconic Gamedev Studios of the 90s and How They Disappeared
- MicroProse
- Origin Systems
- Psygnosis
- Bullfrog Productions
- Sensible Software
- Westwood Studios
- Strategic Simulations, Inc. (aka SSI)
- Interplay Productions / Interplay Entertainment
- LucasArts Entertainment
- Other notable studios
MicroProse
What we remember it for: Civilization, Sid Meier's Pirates, military vehicle simulators
Years active: 1982–2002
Next to Sierra, another hit factory in the 1990s was MicroProse. Admittedly it was recently (in 2019) reborn thanks to an investor from Australia – David Lagetti – but for now it's limited to publishing small productions of independent artists. The old MicroProse remains a closed chapter with lots of great memories, because their hit list seemed to be endless. The humble engineer Sid Meier and the flamboyant former military pilot Bill Stealey created a true legend in the gaming industry starting in 1982.
MicroProse's game list doesn't even need that much scrutiny. Just pick a game randomly, and it will probably be some absolute classic. Let's just mention Civilization, Sid Meier's Pirates!, X-COM, Railroad Tycoon, the Grand Prix series, countless combat machine simulators, such as F-15 Strike Eagle, F-14 Fleet Defender, Silent Service, Falcon series, and many, many others – the list goes on and on!
How did the studio disappear?
MicroProse has fallen victim to its own success, at least in part. The small games made by Sid Meier and an initially small team in the mid 90s turned into huge mega projects costing millions of dollars. The company became fragmented into studies across the UK and the US, lacking skillful management to keep the big money and big ventures in check. MicroProse began reaching out to other genres, where it could not feel as comfortable anymore. Some of these productions turned out to be flops, others landed in the development hell without chances for completion, yet still consuming more funds. In 1993, the studio was acquired by Spectrum HoloByte. After that, its founders left. 1998 brought another change of ownership, this time to Hasbro Interactive. A few more games were released at the time and the company finally dissolved in 2002.
A BIG COMEBACK?
In 2019, MicroProse officially returned to the gaming market, thanks to the purchase of all the necessary rights by David Lagettie, known for his cooperation with Bohemia Interactive in creating the VBS, a professional soldier simulator.
So far, MicroProse published several independent games from smaller developers. When it comes to larger, original projects, there were mentions of a new version of the B-17 bomber simulator made with VR goggles in mind, but after the first announcement, no new information is available. Time will tell if the studio can manage to lift off and bring back more of its iconic brands.
