Sierra Entertainment

Sierra Entertainment at a Glance

Sierra Entertainment, founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams, operated as a major American developer and publisher from 1984 until 2015. You are likely familiar with their early work in graphic adventure games, such as Roberta's Mystery House, which helped pioneer the genre. The company later released well known series like King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, Gabriel Knight, Leisure Suit Larry, and Quest for Glory. Over its active life, Sierra published 94 games and developed 13 more on PlayPile, totaling 97 titles. Their catalog spans many platforms, with a heavy focus on PC through Microsoft Windows at 68 titles. They also released games for Mac, PlayStation 2, DOS, Xbox, Wii, Linux, Xbox 360, Amiga, and PlayStation 3. The volume of their output changed significantly over the decades. Sierra released only four games in the 1980s but saw a surge to 31 titles in the 1990s. Their most prolific period was the 2000s with 56 releases, before dropping to just three games in the 2010s. The company focused heavily on Strategy, Simulator, and Adventure genres, each with 30, 30, and 28 titles respectively. They also produced a notable number of Shooters and Real Time Strategy games. Their quality profile shows a wide range of reception across 72 rated titles. While they have 22 great titles scoring above 80, there are 11 mixed and 2 poor entries below 40. Some of their highest rated works include Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos from 2002 with a score of 90.5, followed by Grand Prix Legends at 89.6 in 1998. Other top performers are Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, Zeus: Master of Olympus, and NASCAR Racing 2002 Season. However, their recent output shows a decline in both volume and consistent quality. King's Quest: Chapter 2 - A Rubble Without a Cause from December 2015 scored 69.8, and Shiftlings from March 2015 scored 67.5. The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon from 2008 received a modest 65.5, while Red Baron Arcade from July 2008 dropped to a poor 30. Their final years on PlayPile did not produce the same volume or acclaim as their peak in the early 2000s.

Release Timeline

Rating Distribution