Editing Spectrum HoloByte

{{more citations needed|date=February 2014}}
{{short description|American video game developer and publisher}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Spectrum HoloByte, Inc.
| logo = Spectrum HoloByte logo on black.svg
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{NASDAQ was|SYBT}}<ref name=SECINFO>{{cite web|url=https://www.secinfo.com/dRqWm.8wVa.htm?Find=spectrum+holobyte|title=SEC}}</ref>
| fate = Absorbed into [[Hasbro Interactive]]
| successor = [[Hasbro Interactive]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1983}}
| founders = Jeff Sauter, Phil Adam and Mike Franklin
| defunct = {{End date and age|1999}}
| hq_location_city = [[Alameda, California]]
| hq_location_country = US
| industry = [[Video game industry|Video games]]
| key_people = [[Gilman Louie]]<br>Phil Adam
| parent = {{plainlist|
* Sphere, Inc. (1987–1993)
* [[MicroProse|MicroProse Inc.]] (1993–1999)
}}
}}

'''Spectrum HoloByte, Inc.''' was an American video game developer and publisher. The company, founded in 1983, was known for its [[simulation video game|simulation games]], notably the ''[[Falcon (series)|Falcon]]'' series of combat flight simulators, and for publishing the first version of ''[[Tetris]]'' outside the Soviet Union (in 1988 for [[MS-DOS]]). Spectrum HoloByte published games for various home computers and [[Video game console|video game consoles]].

==History==
Spectrum HoloByte was founded in 1983 in [[Boulder, Colorado]], by Jeff Sauter, Phil Adam and Mike Franklin.

In 1987 Spectrum HoloByte merged with another game developer, Nexa Corporation, forming a common holding company, Sphere, Inc., and prompting the company's move from Colorado to California. Nexa founder [[Gilman Louie]] served as chairman of the combined company.

In 1992, Spectrum HoloByte received an investment from [[Kleiner Perkins]], which let the company repurchase shares formerly owned by [[Robert Maxwell]]'s companies, ending its ties to their bankruptcies.<ref name="cgw199212">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=101 | title=Spectrum HoloByte Buy-Back Launches Next Generation | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1992 | access-date=5 July 2014 | pages=116}}</ref> In December 1993, Sphere, Inc. merged with [[MicroProse]] to form MicroProse Inc.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Spectrum + MicroProse = MicroProse Inc.|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=56|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=March 1994|page=186}}</ref> For the following years, games from both companies were published under their respective brands, but in 1996 all titles were consolidated under the MicroProse brand.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Stop Press: The Name Game |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=19|publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=July 1996|page=17}}</ref>

[[Hasbro Interactive]] acquired the merged company in 1998, and what had been Spectrum HoloByte ceased to exist when the development studio in [[Alameda, California]], was closed in 1999.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/08/business/hasbro-to-cut-20-of-its-jobs-and-take-97-million-charge.html|title=Hasbro to Cut 20% of Its Jobs and Take $97 Million Charge|last=Freudenheim|first=Milt|date=8 December 1999|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=11 January 2014}}</ref>
{{-}}

==Games==
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|-
! Title
! Year and platform
! Developer
! Publisher
|-
|''[[Gato (video game)|GATO]]''
|1984 (MS-DOS, Mac)<br />1985 (Apple II, C64)<br />1986 (Atari ST)<br />1987 (Atari 8-bit)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Atari Corporation]] (Atari 8-bit)
|-
|''[[Orbiter (1986 video game)|Orbiter]]''
|1986 (MS-DOS, MacOS)<br />1988 (Atari ST)
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Sphere, Inc.]] (Atari ST)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Intrigue!]]''
|1986 (Apple II, C64)
|Kinemation
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Lunar Explorer: A Space Flight Simulator''
|1986 (Apple II, DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Electric Transit
|-
|''[[Solitaire Royale]]''
|1987 (MS-DOS, Mac)<br />1988 (Amiga)<br />{{Nowrap|1989 (Apple IIGS), MS-DOS, Mac, MSX, PC-88, PC-98, Sharp X1}}
|Software Resources International
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Falcon (video game)|Falcon]]''
|1987 (MS-DOS, Mac)<br />1988 (Atari ST)<br />1989 (Amiga)<br />1991 (CDTV)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Dondra: A New Beginning''
|1987 (Apple II)<br />1988 (Apple IIGS)<br />1989 (MS-DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Electronic Arts]] (MS-DOS)
|-
|''[[PT-109 (video game)|PT-109]]''
|1987 (MS-DOS, Mac)
|[[TX Digital Illusions|Digital Illusions]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Zig Zag (1987 video game)|Zig Zag]]''
|1987 (C64)
|Zig Zag Software
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Tetris (Spectrum HoloByte)|Tetris]]''
|1988 (Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, Mac)<br />1989 (Atari ST)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Soko-Ban]]''
|1988 (MS-DOS)<br />1988 (Apple II, C64)
|[[ASCII Corporation|ASCII]], [[Thinking Rabbit]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Falcon (video game series)#Falcon A.T.|Falcon A.T.]]''
|1988 (MS-DOS)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Vette!]]''
|1989 (MS-DOS)<br />1991 (MacOS)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Falcon (video game)|Falcon Operation: Counterstrike]]''
|1989 (Amiga, Atari ST)
|[[Rowan Software]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Tank: The M1A1 Abrams Battle Tank Simulation]]''
|1989 (MS-DOS)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Welltris]]''
|1989 (MS-DOS)<br />1990 (MaS, Amiga, Atari ST)
|[[Doka Group|Doka]], Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Infogrames]] (Amiga, Atari ST)
|-
|''[[Faces...tris III]]''
|1990 (MS-DOS, Mac)<br />1991 (Amiga)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Stunt Driver]]''
|1990 (MS-DOS)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Flight of the Intruder (video game)|Flight of the Intruder]]''
|1990 (MS-DOS)<br />1991 (Amiga, Atari ST)
|[[Rowan Software]]<br />Spectrum Holobyte (Amiga, Atari ST)
|Spectrum Holobyte<br />[[Mirrorsoft]] (Amiga, Atari ST)
|-
|''[[Falcon (video game)|Falcon Operation: Firefight]]''
|1990 (Amiga, Atari ST)
|[[Rowan Software]]<br />[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Super Tetris]]''
|1991 (MS-DOS, Windows 3.x)<br />1992 (Amiga, Mac)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Falcon 3.0]]''
|1991 (MS-DOS)<br />1992 (TG-16)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]<br />Spectrum HoloByte (TG-16)
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />Turbo Technologies (TG-16)
|-
|[[Falcon_(video game)|Falcon MC (Macintosh Color)]]
|1992 (Mac)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Crisis in the Kremlin]]''
|1992 (MS-DOS)
|Barbu Corporation, Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Wordtris]]''
|1991 (MS-DOS)<br />1992 (Game Boy, SNES)<br />1993 (Mac)
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />Armenica (MS-DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Sphere, Inc.]] (Game Boy)<br />[[Nintendo]] (SNES)
|-
|''[[Falcon 3.0#Expansions|Falcon 3.0: Operation: Fighting Tiger]]''
|1992 (MS-DOS)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Tetris Classic]]''
|1992 (MS-DOS, Windows 3.x)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Iron Helix]]''
|1993 (Mac, Windows 3.x)<br />1994 (Sega CD)
|Drew Pictures
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Tetris Gold]]''
|1993 (MS-DOS, Mac, Windows 3.x)
|[[Sphere, Inc.]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Falcon 3.0#Expansions|Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter]]''
|1993 (MS-DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|{{Nowrap|''[[National Lampoon, Inc.#Other media|National Lampoon's Chess Maniac 5 Billion and 1]]''}}
|1993 (MS-DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Tinhead (video game)|TinHead]]''
|1993 (Genesis)
|[[MicroProse]]
|Ballistic
|-
|''[[Soldiers of Fortune (video game)|Soldiers of Fortune]]''
|1993 (Genesis, SNES)
|[[The Bitmap Brothers]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Falcon 3.0#Expansions|MiG-29: Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0]]''
|1993 (MS-DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Tornado (1993 video game)|Tornado]]''
|1993 (MS-DOS)
|Digital Integration
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Gazillionaire]]''
|1994 (Windows 3.x)
|LavaMind
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Out of the Sun''
|1994 (MaS)
|[[Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|[[Eidos Interactive]]
|-
|''[[F1 (video game)|Formula One]]''
|1994 (MS-DOS)
|[[Lankhor]]
|[[Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|-
|''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation (1994 video game)|Star Trek: The Next Generation - Futures Past]]''
|1994 (Genesis, SNES)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Sega]] (Genesis)
|-
|''[[BreakThru!]]''
|1994 (SNES, Windows 3.x)<br />1995 (GB)
|[[Zoo Corporation]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Falcon 3.0#Expansions|Falcon Gold]]''
|1994 (MS-DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Fields of Glory]]''
|1994 (MS-DOS)
|[[MicroProse]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[WildSnake]]''
|1994 (Game Boy, SNES)
|[[Bullet-Proof Software]] (GB)<br />J.S.C. Gamos (SNES)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Lords of Midnight: The Citadel|Lords of Midnight]]''
|1995 (MS-DOS)
|Maelstrom Games
|[[Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|-
|''[[ClockWerx]]''
|1995 (Mac, Windows)
|[[Callisto Corporation]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Reflux: Issue.01 - "The Becoming"''
|1995 (Mac, Windows 3.x)
|Inverse Ink
|Inverse Ink
|-
|''Reflux: Issue.02 - "The Threshold"''
|1995 (Windows 3.x)
|Inverse Ink
|Inverse Ink
|-
|''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity]]''
|1995 (MS-DOS, MaS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Qwirks]]''
|1995 (Mac, Windows, Windows 3.x)
|Big Bang Software
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Perfect Partner Bridge''
|1995 (Mac, Windows 3.x)
|Positronic Software
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Absolute Zero (video game)|Absolute Zero]]''
|1995 (MS-DOS, Mac)
|[[Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|Domark
|-
|''[[Knight Moves (video game)|Knight Moves]]''
|1995 (Windows)
|[[Kinesoft]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Curse of Dragor]]''
|1995 (Mac)
|Banshee Software
|[[Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|-
|''[[Top Gun: Fire at Will!]]''
|1996 (MS-DOS, Mac, PlayStation, Windows)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[MacSoft]] (Mac)
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Moby company|spectrum-holobyte-inc}}

[[Category:MicroProse]]
[[Category:Defunct video game companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Video game companies established in 1983]]
[[Category:Video game companies disestablished in 1999]]
[[Category:Video game development companies]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in Colorado]]


{{US-videogame-company-stub}}