MicroProse Clients & Affiliates Part II: Big-Name Publisher Era (1992-1999)

Everything is MicroProse now, but not everything is MPS Labs (look in the lower left corners).

As promised, here covers the point past discontinuation of the MicroPlay & MicroStyle labels...though it still has to start right at the tail end for reasons that will be explained. MicroProse grew tremendously in its mid-80s to early 90s golden age, what with simulation acumen on one hand and Sid Meier's exploits in strategy gaming on the other. While they would soon experience a major reversal of fortune, that is a story for another time.

With that growth came not only more acquisitions (including some previous MicroPlay clientele), but the opportunity to publish the games of other talented developers. Among the best of the latter came from Europe, MicroProse UK generating a higher return on its investment from those contacts than it ever did developing in-house (which was mainly porting to Atari ST & Amiga anyway). Titles from this point can be differentiated as in-house or third-party simply by whether the MicroProse label is there by itself or if MPS Labs is involved.

Everyware

The private operation of the Murry family, they are probably best known for their Sun Tzu-inspired The Ancient Art of War franchise of which the first two entries were published by Broderbund Software. The third, Ancient Art of War in the Skies, was published by MicroProse. They also made SpaceKids, the one and only "MPS Interactive Cartoon," a simpler game for younger audiences which is impossible to lose and goes in different wacky directions depending on even subtle interactions.

Magnetic Scrolls

Billed as the British equivalent of Legend Entertainment (vying for heir-apparent to the InfoCom legacy), their text adventures backed by graphics were something back in the day, but later they took it to a new level with their mouse-driven window interface they designated Magnetic Windows. The catalog they are best known for today were published under Telecomsoft's Rainbird label, no doubt how they started their relationship with MicroProse. MicroProse acquired them in 1992 and they made a single Magnetic Windows-powered role-playing game, The Legacy: Realm of Terror, before being closed down for good.

Paragon Software

Unlike most MicroPlay clients MicroProse published Paragon Software's games with the label intact, just supplemented by a Medalist International sticker which was MicroProse's third-party publishing arm. Its games were typically nothing to write home about, despite being licensed by Marvel Comics and Game Developers Workshop, because the gameplay itself left something to be desired. MicroProse shut down the Paragon Software label in 1992 turning their concurrent project, the space combat simulator XF5700 Mantis Experimental Fighter (a remake of the British-exclusive Warhead with "realistic" physics) into one of the last MicroPlay games.

From there the formerly Paragon staff became MicroProse developers, though not as part of MPS Labs. They stabbed into RPGs a couple more times: Challenge of the Five Realms for MicroPlay and BloodNet for MicroProse, both of which got mixed reviews. That marks the end of their MicroProse story, though the team transitioned to working for GameTek and abandoned their failed RPG direction beginning with Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller (which includes a shout-out to BloodNet).

Spectrum Holobyte

Spectrum Holobyte is the most significant name on both lists because they were not just a MicroProse client: they literally BECAME MicroProse. In the 1980s they had contacts in Japan (where they released the predecessor to their famous combat flight series, F-16 Fighting Falcon) but none in Europe, thus the relationship started with MicroProse distributing Spectrum Holobyte's titles in Europe. Eventually came the point that MicroProse had plenty of games but was hurting for money while Spectrum Holobyte had the opposite problem, so Bill Stealey brought Gilman Louie aboard and changed the direction of both companies forever.

Even with the merger official the Spectrum Holobyte label survived for a time, continuing to appear on the Tetris series & spin-offs and the Napoleonic strategy game Fields of Glory. They also brought with them a pair of big Paramount licenses that, while exploited with mixed results, were among the better gaming works of either: Top Gun & Star Trek: The Next Generation. Top Gun: Fire at Will was the last Spectrum Holobyte game; they officially embraced the MicroProse label afterwards.

Holistic Design

An American company wishing to contribute its own takes to the strategy genre, their resume is not long and if it includes any franchise it would be the historical Italian economic challenge Merchant Prince. A sequel/upgrade to the first Merchant Prince titled Machiavelli the Prince was published by MicroProse (some copies included the classic sociopolitical book by Machiavelli). Holistic Design is one of the few computer game companies who branched into other markets, producing their own RPG books.

Simtex Software

A developer from Texas (which should be obvious by the name) with a famous story of their own, having been inspired to adapt what was so successful in Sid Meier's Civilization and not only set it in space but improve on it. The result, Master of Orion, launched a legacy that would outlast both Simtex and Micro-Prose. A fantasy follow-up, Master of Magic, and sequel, Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares, were also MicroProse games; the only non-MicroProse product from Simtex was 1830: Railroads & Robber Barons, published by Avalon Hill as a licensed adaptation of that company's board game.

Particle Systems

Known for the Independence War duology and ultimately acquired by Argonaut (remember that name?), their one contribution to the MicroProse library is a good, unique one. A futuristic underwater combat simulator like SubWar 2050 seems a great fit for a company like MicroProse known for its combat flight simulators. It got an expansion pack, The Plot Deepens, before Particle Systems moved on.

Mythos Games

For years Julian & Nick Gollop experimented with how to make turn-based tactics believably realistic, arguably perfecting that formula right on time for MicroProse to publish their breakthrough performance known in the US as X-COM: UFO Defense. While the additional real-time grand strategy and logistical elements left something to be desired, most could tell the real heart of the game was the "Battlescape" play in which individual troops with RPG-like attributes behaved much as could be expected by warriors under the strain of facing an extraterrestrial threat with superior technology. It was such a hit MicroProse offered to recycle the engine to produce the direct sequel X-COM: Terror From the Deep themselves, allowing Mythos freedom to focus on a true successor which was X-COM Apocalypse in 1997. Success was already eluding the X-COM franchise at that point unfortunately; neither it nor Mythos would live to see the new millennium, with the X-COM property going dormant until revived by Sid Meier's company Firaxis Games in 2012.

Chris Sawyer Productions

Chris Sawyer is one of those quiet programming adepts who, though not having contributed as much to gaming history as legends like John Romero or Sid Meier, every one of his games is worth attention just for the technical marvel. His contribution for MicroProse was Transport Tycoon, coded in Intel assembler for PC, and gaining the name since 1) he was inspired in part by Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon and 2) he had the good fortune to be noticed by MicroProse who were already capitalizing on the Tycoon name to form its own little franchise in 1994. Sawyer took his time to get things right, and once ready offered his next project RollerCoaster Tycoon for the Hasbro-owned MicroProse label in 1999.

Team17

What started in the early 90s as a humble developer in Sheffield with an undying passion for the Amiga, by 1995 they may have been the only company left pushing commercial games for Amiga showcasing what the platform was capable of (not unlike what John Carmack was concurrently doing for PCs) when they struck world-shattering gold with the first of Andy Davidson's Worms franchise. While associated with publisher Ocean Software at the time, for the first true official sequel to Worms (as well as the first Team17 game designed strictly for PC) they turned to MicroProse to publish Worms 2 worldwide. What started as an expansion pack but turned into a sequel using the same engine, Worms Armageddon was another major success (and still ranks among the most beloved in the entire series), ported to consoles and keeping the MicroProse label afloat a while longer as they were in steep decline.

End of the Era

French publisher Infogrames acquired the MicroProse label in 2001, shutting it down the following year (after using it a few more times for sequels and projects already in development). The name would be acquired and revived back into its simulation and strategy roots in 2019, though with how much gaming changed in that time they still have yet to publish a truly standout title like in the old days. At least Bill Stealey collaborates with them (along with running his own company iEntertainment Network, founded as Interactive Magic in 1995) thus it is as close as it gets to having the original company back.