The Great Battles of Caesar was announced by publisher Interactive Magic and developer Erudite Software in early 1997, alongside its direct predecessor, Hannibal.

[1] Erudite had signed with the company in mid-1996 to publish both games' forebear, The Great Battles of Alexander, after that title's long and troubled development cycle.

[10] In early January 1998, Interactive Magic confirmed the spring release date for Caesar,[11] and announced that it would cease publishing Great Battles titles thereafter.

While he found its graphics middling, and noted that the slow performance continued from its predecessors, Cobb summarized, "If you're willing to put up with its eccentricities, Caesar does a remarkable job of recreating ancient warfare.

"[17] Mark H. Walker of Computer Games Strategy Plus wrote that Caesar is "fun, challenging, and mildly addictive", but also "annoyingly flawed and somewhat dated."

[26] This SKU updated Hannibal and Alexander to match Caesar's visuals and programming, and includes a mission editor that allows players to create hypothetical battles.