Published Oct 22, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT

Sid Meier's name hangs over the franchise, but crafting the ultimate turn-based strategy franchise took a village

Forty-four years ago, Sid Meier, a computer programmer, and Bruce Shelley, a military pilot, met in Las Vegas to discuss a potential partnership in the video-game business. They tested their wits in a game of Atari’s flight simulator, Red Baron , and when Meier's video game knowledge bested Stealey's real-world flight experience, the two knew exactly what kind of game their nascent studio would specialize in.

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Several years and military simulator games later, however, Meier itched to do something new.…