| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1989; 36 years ago (1989) |
| Founder | David Lester |
| Defunct | February 2004 (2004-2) |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts,USA |
| Products | City Building series Lords of the Realm series |
| Parent | Sierra Entertainment (1995–2004) |
| Website | impressionsgames.com (archived) |
Impressions Games was a Britishvideo game developer founded by David Lester. He sold the company toSierra On-Line in 1995,[1] who was then bought out byCendant and eventually,Vivendi Universal (now known as Vivendi SA).
Impressions specialized in historical strategy games and is best known for itsCity Building Series, which includeCaesar,Pharaoh,Zeus: Master of Olympus, andEmperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom. In 1998, Impressions Games was the most profitable division ofHavas Interactive, with $20 million in net profit. This surpassedBlizzard Entertainment for the period, according toCNET Gamecenter.[2]
Mike Ryder, former president of Sierra Entertainment, forced a change in management in October 2001, during development ofLords of the Realm III. Rod Nakamoto was installed as the new director.Lords III became Impressions's final game, and was released to mediocre reviews in March 2004.
The studio was shut down in April 2004 when Vivendi Universal closed most of their game development studios. Many members of the studio moved on to formTilted Mill Entertainment.
Former notable employees of Impressions includeChris Beatrice and Peter Haffenreffer, co-founders of Tilted Mill Entertainment and Simon Bradbury, founder ofFirefly Studios.
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