Founded in 1988 by Don McFatridge, Steve Wall and Dave Hill, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and was subsequently acquired by Silverstar Holdings in 2005.

During one lunch break in 1988, they decided that they would begin their careers anew, establishing Strategy First as a video game development company.

[2][3] Due to this insolvency, multiple developers, including Stardock and Paradox Interactive, did not receive royalties for their respective games published by Strategy First.

[6] Silverstar Holdings, a public company based in Boca Raton, Florida, that specialized in the acquisition of pay-to-play businesses, announced on 22 April 2005 that it had acquired Strategy First from the bankruptcy proceedings.

[9] In April 2005, Strategy First acquired and absorbed all assets of Santa Rosa, California-based developer Malfador Machinations.