Operation Crusader was among the first titles released in Avalon Hill's push to revive its computer game division during the 1990s, in an attempt to diversify its business because of falling board wargame sales.

Starting with the hire of producer Jim Rose in December 1992,[1][2] Avalon Hill began an effort to revive its computer game branch in response to flagging board wargame sales during the 1990s.

[5][6][3] The Atomic team was known for the V for Victory series with Three-Sixty Pacific, but had recently left that publisher,[5] after a period of financial problems that culminated in a lawsuit for unpaid royalties.

[5] By January 1994, Atomic Games had revealed the World at War series as the successor to its V for Victory line under Avalon, and its first entry was entitled Operation Crusader.

[4][3] The computer game division had previously been known for low-quality titles,[3][2][11] a problem that Avalon Hill's Don Greenwood blamed on his and the company's "hubris" and favoritism toward board products.

[12][2][13]Computer Gaming World columnist Alan Emrich wrote in 1995, "To say there was no love lost between [...] Jim Rose and Atomic's Keith Zabalaoui would be a gracious understatement.