Sid Meier

2:35 Sid Meier created Civilization, and his name is in the official title, "Sid Meier's Civilization III", but he did not design Civilization 3: the 2001 credits read "Original CIVILIZATION Designed By Sid Meier" and "CIVILIZATION III Designed By Jeff Briggs, Soren Johnson, and Members of Firaxis Games" (2001 manual, Credits). The Conquests credits list him as "Creator of Civilization and Director of Creative Development" at Firaxis Games (Complete manual, Credits). He cofounded Firaxis, appeared at the game's announcement, and spoke for it at Play the World's launch. Who did what is on Development History.

Quick facts

Sources: 2001 manual, Credits; Complete manual, Credits; PC Gamer, Apr 6, 2020; GameSpot, Sep 28, 2001.

Creator, not designer, of Civ 3

4:55 Civilization 3 had a different lead designer from the start. PC Gamer explains the series' habit of a new lead designer for each game: Meier "felt he had poured everything" into the first Civilization, so Brian Reynolds took over Civilization 2 and was meant to lead Civ 3 too, until he left to found Big Huge Games (PC Gamer, Apr 6, 2020). Jeff Briggs became the designer, with Soren Johnson as co-designer and programmer.

Meier's name stays on the box as the series' creator. Every edition is sold as "Sid Meier's Civilization III", and the Steam listing today is "Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete" (Steam). Firaxis described itself at the time as the "home of legendary designer Sid Meier" (Infogrames, Oct 29, 2002).

Firaxis and the 1999 announcement

2:05 Meier cofounded the studio that made the game. Firaxis Games was founded in 1996 by Sid Meier, Brian Reynolds and Jeff Briggs (PC Gamer), and by 1999 it was headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland (Hasbro Interactive, May 17, 1999).

He was on stage when the game was announced. Hasbro Interactive's release of May 17, 1999 says the E3 press conference reunited "industry legend Sid Meier" with his Firaxis partners Briggs and Reynolds and with Tony Parks of Hasbro Interactive, "the original team" behind the first two Civilization games. The release dates are on Release History.

In the Limited Edition

The 2001 Limited Edition carried Meier on video. GameSpot's pre-order report says the tin box held a making-of video, "a video of Sid Meier's induction" into the IDSA Hall of Fame, designer notes from Meier and Briggs, and a foldout technology tree, limited to 75,000 units at about $59.99 (GameSpot, Sep 28, 2001).

Speaking for Play the World

Meier spoke for the first expansion as a Firaxis cofounder. At Play the World's launch on Oct 29, 2002, Infogrames quoted him: "Adding fun and fast paced multiplayer to Civ III is a major step for the franchise" (Infogrames, Oct 29, 2002). He called human opponents "the ultimate AI" in the same release.

What he has said about the series since

3:43 Meier's later interviews about the series pass over Civ 3 itself. In 2006 he described each sequel's method: "we would remove what didn't work in the last version and add new features", and he named Civilization 4, not 3, as the big step (GameSpot, Dec 2, 2006). In 2007 he said the series answered the "too militaristic" criticism with other victory conditions, but that the military side stayed "the most interesting and the most fun to play" (Game Developer, Jul 18, 2007). What his 2020 book, Sid Meier's Memoir!, says about Civ 3 is not covered here.

Frequently asked questions

Did Sid Meier make Civ 3? Sid Meier created the Civilization series and cofounded Firaxis Games, which made Civilization 3, but the game was designed by Jeff Briggs and Soren Johnson; Meier is credited with the original design (2001 manual, Credits).

Why is Sid Meier's name on Civilization 3? Civilization 3 is sold as "Sid Meier's Civilization III" because Sid Meier created Civilization; the Conquests credits call him "Creator of Civilization and Director of Creative Development" (Complete manual).

What was Sid Meier's role on Civ 3? At Firaxis Games, Sid Meier was cofounder and, per Conquests' credits, Director of Creative Development; he appeared at Civilization 3's E3 announcement in 1999 and spoke for Play the World in 2002.

Who designed Civilization 3? Jeff Briggs and Soren Johnson designed Civilization 3, with "Members of Firaxis Games", as the 2001 credits put it.

Which Civilization games did Sid Meier design himself? The Civilization 3 credits give Sid Meier the "Original CIVILIZATION" design, and Hasbro Interactive's 1999 release says he created Civilization in 1991, while Brian Reynolds led Civilization 2's development.

Sources

• Civilization 3 manual (2001), Credits, Infogrames Interactive, 2001
• Civilization III Complete manual, Credits, 2K Games and Firaxis Games, 2005
• The complete history of Civilization, page 3, PC Gamer (Fraser Brown), Apr 6, 2020
• Hasbro Interactive and Firaxis Games Announce Partnership to Create 'Sid Meier's Civilization III', Hasbro Interactive, May 17, 1999
• Civilization III limited edition available for preorder, GameSpot (Trey Walker), Sep 28, 2001
• Infogrames Ships Major Expansion Pack for Sid Meier's Civilization III, Infogrames, Oct 29, 2002
• Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete, Steam, read Oct 22, 2026
• Q&A: Sid Meier chronicles Civilization, GameSpot (Tor Thorsen), Dec 2, 2006
• The History of Civilization, Game Developer (Benj Edwards), Jul 18, 2007
• The Story of Civilization Part 2: How Firaxis Shaped the Strategy Genre, GameSpot, Oct 21, 2016 (video)