One of the largest strategy franchises on PC today is Sid Meier's Civilization. The franchise has brought players throughout their own version of history as they fight to be the last civilization standing. It has enthralled fans of the genre for hours on end and has even recieved many accolades over the years. Almost everyone has either heard about Civilization or has played one of the many entries in the series.
Sid Meier's Civilization takes its name from the lead designer of the franchise, Sid Meier. He would go on to not only design the Civilization series but also games in other genres like Sid Meier's Pirates!, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, and Sid Meier's Colonization. The Sid Meier name used to be plastered on all sorts of different titles, but in recent years Firaxis Games has chosen to only utilize it on the Civilization series. It has been seven years since the last Sid Meier spin-off was released, and it is time for another one.
A Brief History of Sid Meier's Games
In 1987, the first game that used the Sid Meier's name was released called Sid Meier's Pirates! The game utilized his name in hopes that it would attract fans of Meier's early simulation titles and was supposed to mark a big departure from the developer, MicroProse's, earlier combat games. The title brought players to the 16th century and let them experience life as a pirate or a pirate hunter. It let players traverse a series of Caribbean islands and live out their high seas dream. It was met with immense praise and marked a big shift for MicroProse's games.
Sid Meier's name would go on to be a major part of MicroProse's marketing. His name would not only be plastered on the Civilization series but also on Alpha Centauri, Colonization, Gettysburg!, Antietam!, Railroads!, and even SimGolf. Each of these titles was wildly different, and they all brought players to unique locales. Alpha Centauri served as the first iteration of Civilization: Beyond Earth, Gettysburg! was a wargame set during the Civil War, Railroads! let players live out their railroad managing dreams, and SimGolf gave sports fans something to check out.
There are many video games with the Sid Meier's name, but not all of them were created by Sid Meier himself. Sid Meier's Civilization is perhaps one of the largest franchises that Firaxis has, and because of that, the majority of its resources go there. The last time that Firaxis greenlit a Sid Meier's game that was not Civilization was back in 2015 with Sid Meier's Spaceships. It was a spin-off title set in the universe of Civilization: Beyond Earth that allowed players to control fleets of spaceships and explore the galaxy. It did not recieve great reviews on launch, and is seldom discussed when talking about PC strategy games.
Firaxis Needs More Sid Meier's Games
Sid Meier's name used to be everywhere, and in almost every sub-genre of simulation games. When players went out to pick up a simulation game, they could expect at least some of those titles to have the Sid Meier's branding attached to them. Nowadays, fans of simulation titles have gone to other franchises or developers to get their simulation fix. The only time players see Sid Meier on the cover of a game now is when they boot up Sid Meier's Civlization or one of the old school Sid Meier games, and that should change.
Firaxis, and MicroProse before it, used to churn out many different simulation games. Players would not have to look far if they wanted to get their hands on Pirate games, science fiction titles, spy thrillers, or even railroad simulators. Many simulation fans have fond memories of the adventures they went on in Sid Meier's Pirates! or the galactic journey they partook in through Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Firaxis is sitting on these iconic franchises that fans are just waiting to see a return, and now is the time for it to deliver.
Sid Meier's Civilization is going strong and has garnered many fans over its long history. Firaxis Games will of course continue to focus on the franchise, but while it creates the next Civilization title or DLC for Civilization 6, it should also consider looking to its back catalog of Sid Meier's titles for an easy win. Whatever form it takes, whether that be a new Sid Meier's Pirates! or a brand new game with the Sid Meier name, fans of simulators would undoubtedly look forward to it.