For his contributions to the video game industry, Meier was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

[5] During this timeframe, Meier acquired an Atari 800 around 1981, an experience that led him to the realization of the potential for employing computer programming in the creation of video games.

[6] Sid Meier has stated on numerous occasions that he emphasizes the "fun parts" of a simulation and throws out the rest.Meier founded MicroProse with Stealey in 1982.

[8] After a few initial 2D action games, such as Meier's platformer Floyd of the Jungle,[9] MicroProse settled into a run of flight simulation titles beginning with Hellcat Ace (1982) and continuing with Spitfire Ace (1982), Solo Flight (1983), and F-15 Strike Eagle (1985), all designed and programmed by Meier.

"[3][6] The idea was successful; by 1992, an entry in Computer Gaming World's poetry contest praised Meier's name as "a guarantee they got it right".

Around 1990, Stealey wanted to expand MicroProse to produce arcade games, which Meier felt was too risky.

Meier, along with MicroProse employees Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds, were dissastified with these decisions, and opted to leave the company to form Firaxis Games in 1997.

Dennis Shirk, a senior producer, said in 2016 that Meier would sometimes arrive at the office and announce he had a new game prototype for the company to try out and see if it could be developed further.

[28] Computer Gaming World reported in 1994 that "Sid Meier has stated on numerous occasions that he emphasizes the 'fun parts' of a simulation and throws out the rest".

[7] The magazine reported that year how "Meier insisted that discovering the elusive quality of fun is the toughest part of design.

He is a devout Christian, and he and his wife attend Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cockeysville, where he is the Director of Contemporary Music.

[33][34] In 1996, GameSpot put Meier at the top of their listing of the "Most Influential People in Computer Gaming of All Time", calling him "our Hitchcock, our Spielberg, our Ellington".

[42][43] A complete list of his works which includes early non-commercial titles is available in the appendix of Sid Meier's Memoir!