MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982.

Subsequent cuts and corporate policies led to Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds leaving and forming Firaxis Games in 1996, as MicroProse closed its ex-Simtex development studio in Austin, Texas.

MicroProse UK's former main office in Chipping Sodbury was closed in 2002, followed by the company's former headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland, in 2003.

In summer 1982, mutual friends who knew of their shared interest in aviation arranged for retired military pilot Bill Stealey and computer programmer Sid Meier to meet in Las Vegas.

Although Meier needed two months to produce Hellcat Ace, Stealey sold 50 copies in his first sales appointment and the game became the first product of their new company.

MicroProse released the air traffic control game Kennedy Approach, written by Andy Hollis, in 1985.

Several games from different developers were also published by MicroProse under the labels "Firebird" and "Rainbird" (acquired after buying Telecomsoft in May 1989),[10] including Mr. Heli, Midwinter and Core Design's Rick Dangerous.

During the same period, MicroProse created two labels: MicroStyle (UK), and MicroPlay Software (US), using them for publishing a variety of externally developed games, such as Challenge of the Five Realms, Command HQ, Global Conquest, Elite Plus, Flames of Freedom, Rick Dangerous, Stunt Car Racer, Xenophobe and XF5700 Mantis.

[11][12] By the late 1980s, the company maintained a division, Medialist International, in order to distribute and develop independent titles that was publish through the MicroPlay and MicroProse labels.

Some of MicroProse's simulation games from the 1980s received remakes in the early 1990s, such as Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter 2.0, Silent Service II and Gunship 2000, and made some first cautious attempts to expand into the console market with F-117A Stealth Fighter and Super Strike Eagle (MicroProse also ported several of their titles to the 16- and 32-bit consoles during the mid-1990s).

Brand new simulation and strategy titles included 1942: The Pacific Air War, Dogfight, Fields of Glory, Formula One Grand Prix, Harrier Jump Jet, Knights of the Sky, Starlord, Subwar 2050 and Task Force 1942.

A core group of artists, designers, and programmers left MicroProse UK to join Psygnosis, which opened an office in Stroud specifically to attract ex-MicroProse employees.

Spectrum Holobyte managed to line up licenses, including Top Gun (Top Gun: Fire At Will), Magic: The Gathering (Magic: The Gathering), Star Trek: The Next Generation (A Final Unity, Birth of the Federation, Klingon Honor Guard) and MechWarrior (MechCommander, MechWarrior 3).

Strategy game UFO: Enemy Unknown proved to be an unanticipated hit in 1994, spawning multiple sequels.

[21] On October 5, 1997, GT Interactive announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire MicroProse for $250 million in stock.

MicroProse's stock plummeted to just $2.31 after the announcement of the deal's cancellation,[24] and the company had estimated losses of $7–10 million during the third quarter of 1997 which are largely attributed to dislocations caused by the aborted merger.

[26] In November 1997, MicroProse was sued by both Avalon Hill (who had the U.S. publishing rights to the name Civilization)[27] and Activision for copyright infringement.

MicroProse responded by buying Hartland Trefoil, which was the original designer and manufacturer of the Civilization board game, and then sued Avalon Hill and Activision for trademark infringement and unfair business practices as a result of Activision's decision to develop and publish Civilization video games.

[27][29] In preparation for its sale, MicroProse closed down its studio in Austin in June 1998; as a result of the closure, 35 employees lost their jobs.

In December 1998, MicroProse finally managed to publish Falcon 4.0 (in development by Spectrum HoloByte since 1992), to disappointing sales.

[50] The Hunt Valley studio worked on Monopoly Casino: Vegas Edition for the PC, and then focused on the development of the Xbox title Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes, which was released in October 2003.

[63] In October 2014, Tommo announced the launch of the "Retroism" brand and re-released a majority of MicroProse's catalogue through digital media platforms such as Steam.

Lagettie was a former developer for Bohemia Interactive at their Australian studios before starting his own company to create video game simulators to be used by military groups.

[65] Within the rest of 2019, MicroProse announced Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age by the developer Triassic Games AB, Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles by Drydock Dreams Games, Operation: Harsh Doorstop by Drakeling Labs, and Warfare 1944 by Drakeling Labs.

Lagettie said that while the new MicroProse will branch out to other genres such as adventure and racing games, their core portfolio will be centered on combat-based ones.

(1987), Project Stealth Fighter (1987), Railroad Tycoon (1990), Red Storm Rising (1988), Silent Service (1985), and UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994).