Team success reunited, for the satisfaction, and most definitely the money
Steve Owen

Hasbro Interactive have just announced that the original team behind Civilization is to be reunited to work on Civilization III. Although gaming stalwart Sid Meier is generally credited with the creation of Civilization, it was actually a design collaboration with Brian Reynolds, Jeff Briggs and Tony Parks.

Reynolds, Meier and Briggs left MicroProse two years ago to form Firaxis Games, who released Alpha Centauri with Electronic Arts last Christmas. Parks moved to Hasbro at around the same time. It's long been known that Hasbro have had their eye on the Civ franchise. Their first attempt to gain control brought about the purchase of Avalon Hill, the manufacturers of the Civilization board game.

Hasbro then discovered that Avalon Hill no longer retained any computer game rights, which were sold to MicroProse. Not to be put off, Hasbro bought MicroProse, a company in serious financial difficulty after the delay of several major titles. Civ ownership still wasn't assured, however, when Activision claimed ownership of the franchise last year. This discrepancy was eventually settled out of court, with Activision licensing the name from Hasbro.

Despite a publishing deal with EA, Firaxis are to create Civilization III under the MicroProse and Hasbro brand names. "Civ III is part of a larger picture," claimed Meier, hinting that it would form part of a trilogy, including an update to Alpha Centauri, and a similar turn-based strategy game extending the story beyond outer space. Just as Civ ends with a trip to Alpha Centauri, and Alpha Centauri ends with the ascendance to a god-like status, we can only assume that the third title will prove to be a battle in the heavens themselves.