Category:Strategic Simulations

Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a publisher of wargame and computer games in the Golden Age of computer games. It was especially notable for its numerous wargames, and for the groundbreaking. It was also a computer game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979.

The company was founded by Joel Billings, a wargame enthusiast who's early efforts to get his home-brewed game Computer Bismarck published were stymied by wargame boardgame giant Avalon Hill. When he couldn't find an external publisher, he hired two programmers and put the game out under his new company, SSI. Computer Bismarck shipped with high-grade packaging, unlike most no-name computer games, and soon found large demand in the retail market.

From these humble beginnings, SSI branched out to role-playing games in 1984, a line that took off after they acquired the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons license from TSR in 1987, publishing 30 games under the license over the years. The company dominated the computer wargames market for the entirety of the 1980's, winning multiple awards and selling numerous titles.

SSI leapt to the forefront of strategic gaming once again in 1994 with the release of Panzer General. Allied General and Pacific General soon followed along with non-historical titles such as Star General and Fantasy General. In 1997, Panzer General II was releaseed with hand-painted maps and icons, becoming an extremely popular game that is still modded today. In 1999 SSI released Panzer General 3D Assualt with a 3D engine, to lackluster response.

Strategic Simulations was acquired by multiple game companies starting in the mid-90s, ending up at Ubisoft in 2001, where the brand was finally retired.