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| Company type | Subsidiary |
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| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1984; 41 years ago (1984) |
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| Defunct | 2003 (2003) |
| Fate | Filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
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New World Computing, Inc. was an Americanvideo game developer andpublisher founded in 1984[1] byJon Van Caneghem, his wife, Michaela Van Caneghem, and Mark Caldwell.[2] It was best known for its work on theMight and Magicrole-playing video game series and its spin-offs, especiallyHeroes of Might and Magic. The company was purchased by and became a division ofThe 3DO Company on July 10, 1996[3] fromNTN Communications, after NTN purchased New World Computing for $10 million in stock.[4]
Amidst financial hardship, the 3DO Company laid off a large portion of the staff of New World Computing on April 15, 2002.[5] While a smaller, core staff remained at New World Computing, thefollowing year saw little improvement in parent 3DO's situation, and the company filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May of that year.[6] Before dissolving later that year, 3DO sold the rights to theMight and Magic series toUbisoft.[7] As anin-house development studio of the 3DO Company, New World Computing ceased to exist with the dissolution of its parent organization.
The firstMight and Magic game,Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum, was programmed by Jon Van Caneghem for over a three-year period ending in 1986.[citation needed] Released for the Apple II on June 1, 1986,[8] withports for theCommodore 64,classic Mac OS, andMS-DOS following a year later,[2] the game was successful enough to warrant a sequel,Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World, released for the Apple II and MS-DOS in 1988.[9]
The third installment,Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra was released in 1991 and was the first game in the series designed specifically for MS-DOS-based computers, although ports were released for a variety of other systems, including theclassic Mac OS,Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and theSega Mega Drive.[10]Might and Magic III featured an entirely redesignedgame engine and8-bit (256) colorVGA graphics.[11]
TheMight and Magic III engine was reused for the next two installments of the series,Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen andMight and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen, released in 1992 and 1993, respectively. When installed together, the two games became a single, omnibus-style title calledWorld of Xeen.[12] In 1994, New World released an enhancedCD-ROM version ofWorld of Xeen featuringRed Book CD audio and spoken dialog.[13] TheMight and Magic III engine was used one final time forSwords of Xeen, a continuation ofWorld of Xeen produced byCatware under permission from New World Computing. Although it was never released as a standalone title,Swords of Xeen was included in numerousMight and Magic series compilations released by New World Computing and, later, the 3DO Company.[14]
After apause of five years (during which time theHeroes of Might and Magic spin-off franchise was launched) New World returned to the Might and Magic series withMight and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, their first game to use3D graphics, and the first to be released forMicrosoft Windows.[1]Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor (1999) andMight and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer (2000) followed, using the same engine, but adding support for graphicalhardware acceleration.[15] In late 2001,Might and Magic VIII was released for thePlayStation 2 video game console in theJapanese market only, courtesy of developer Imagineer.[16]
Also in 2001, New World and 3DO releasedLegends of Might and Magic, a spin-off of theMight and Magic series. Originally conceived as anonline multiplayeraction role-playing game (and announced as such when it was unveiled atE3 in 2000), by the time of the game's release the following year it had evolved into a more traditionalfirst-person shooter.[17]
The nextMight and Magic game was released in 2002 asMight and Magic IX for Windows. Abandoning the now-datedMight and Magic VI engine in favor of theLithTech engine (also used inLegends of Might and Magic),Might and Magic IX was the first game in the series to be rendered entirely in 3D.[18] Unfortunately, the release of the game was rushed, and the finished product was received poorly by critics, who noted the numeroussoftware bugs remaining in the final release, most of which were not fully resolved by the solepatch released before New World Computing's dissolution.[19] The most current game, released by Ubisoft in 2014, is Might and Magic X.
Before its bankruptcy, the 3DO Company produced two further spin-offs of theMight and Magic series:Crusaders of Might and Magic andWarriors of Might and Magic. Neither of these games was developed by New World Computing, however.[citation needed] Similarly, a number ofMight and Magic spin-off titles have been produced since the dissolution of New World Computing byUbisoft and its associates. New World Computing was not involved in the production of any of these (includingDark Messiah of Might and Magic).[20]
In 1990, New World Computing releasedKing's Bounty, aturn-basedtactical role-playing game, for theApple II,MS-DOS,Mac,Commodore 64, andAmiga. The game, designed by New World co-founder Jon Van Caneghem, was subsequently modified to includereal-time elements andported to theSega Mega Drivevideo game console.Four years later, New World would revisit the basic mechanics of the home-computer versions ofKing's Bounty withHeroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest, released forMS-DOS. In 1996, anenhanced version of the game was released forWindows 95.
Following the success of the firstHeroes game, New World releasedHeroes of Might and Magic II forWindows 95 and theclassic Mac OS. Anexpansion pack, entitledThe Price of Loyalty was designed byCyberlore Studios and released by New World Computing in 1997 for Windows 95 only. The combined game and its expansion were subsequently re-released together asHeroes of Might and Magic II Gold.
In 1999,Heroes of Might and Magic III was released for Windows and the classic Mac OS. The Windows release was quickly followed by theArmageddon's Blade expansion pack later that year andThe Shadow of Death expansion pack in early 2000. Neither of the two expansion packs were released separately for Mac OS, although an omnibus release, entitledHeroes of Might and Magic III Complete was released for both Windows and Mac OS shortly thereafter.Loki Software produced aLinux port of the originalHeroes III in 2000, but neither of the two expansions were made available.
From 2000 to 2001, New World Computing used a limited version of theHeroes of Might and Magic IIIgame engine in a series of eightepisodic titles released under theHeroes Chronicles umbrella. Two of these games (The World Tree andThe Fiery Moon) were only available for online download to consumers who purchased other installments of the series.
In 2001, anenhanced remake of the originalKing's Bounty was released for thePlayStation 2 video game console. The game was marketed as part of theHeroes franchise and released under the titleHeroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragon Bone Staff.
Heroes of Might and Magic IV was released for Windows in 2002 alongsideMight and Magic IX, and featured a major overhaul of the series' gameplay. Like the previousHeroes game, two expansion packs were released:The Gathering Storm in late 2002, andThe Winds of War in 2003.The Winds of War was the last title to be developed by New World Computing prior to its dissolution following the bankruptcy of 3DO.
Subsequent games in theHeroes of Might and Magic series were developed byNival Interactive and released byUbisoft. In addition, the rights to theKing's Bounty name were purchased in 2007 by Russian publisher1C Company, who releasedKing's Bounty: The Legend thefollowing year (developed byKatauri Interactive).
Throughout its existence, New World Computing focused primarily on theMight and Magic series and its various spin-offs. Early in its existence, however, the company was involved in the development of several unrelated video games, typically in therole-playing video game genre. The company also served as the publisher for a number of games, includingSpaceward Ho!, developed byDelta Tao Software, andEmpire Deluxe by Mark Baldwin and Bob Rakowsky. After being absorbed into the 3DO Company, New World Computing devoted its energies solely to game development, and worked exclusively on theMight and Magic franchise thereafter.
In 1989, New World Computing developed the satirical gameNuclear War, based on theFlying Buffalo card game of the same name. Published byU.S. Gold, it was not particularly successful from a financial perspective but notable as a departure from the company's traditional field ofrole-playing video games.
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