Kesmaiwas a pioneeringgame developerand onlinegame publisher,founded in 1981[1]byKelton FlinnandJohn Taylor.The company was best known for the combatflight simAir Warrioron theGEnieonline service, one of the first graphicalMMOGs,launched in 1987. They also developed an ASCII-basedMUD,Island of Kesmai,andempire buildinggame,MegaWars III,which ran onCompuServe,and later,GEnie.
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founders | Kelton Flinn John Taylor |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Fate | Closed |
| Parent | News Corp.(1994–1999) Electronic Arts(1999–2001) |
The company was acquired byRupert Murdoch'sNews Corp.in 1994.[2][3]The company continued to develop massively multiplayer games such asAir Warrior 2andLegends of Kesmai.They distributed their games throughAOLand eventually a new gaming service formed with three other publishers,GameStorm.[4]
AOL purchasedCompuServein 1997 and retooled its AOL Games Channel in a way that placed Kesmai unfavorably compared to its own games division, WorldPlay.[5]Kesmai sued AOL for monopolistic practices.[6]The suit was settled out of court with undisclosed terms.[7]
In 1999, the company wassoldtoElectronic Arts,[8]and the company's studios were subsequently closed in 2001. Upon closure a number of the Kesmai staff went to work forLodestone Games,also located inCharlottesville,Virginia;while others remained in the former Kesmai offices but became part ofEA.comand later Maxis East.
Flinn selected the nameKesmaifrom a set of names that were output by a random name generator that he wrote for in-game use.
Games
edit| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developed titles | |||
| 1982 | MegaWars | Terminal | |
| 1984 | MegaWars III | Terminal | |
| 1988 | Air Warrior | Terminal | |
| 1990 | Amiga | ||
| 1991 | Atari ST | ||
| 1992 | CDTV | ||
| 1992 | DOS | ||
| 1996 | MultiPlayer BattleTech: Solaris | Microsoft Windows | |
| 1997 | Air Warrior II | Microsoft Windows | |
| Air Warrior III | Microsoft Windows | ||
| CatchWord | Microsoft Windows | Assisted Ant Software | |
| Legends of Kesmai | Microsoft Windows | ||
| 1998 | Aliens Online | Microsoft Windows | AssistedMythic Entertainment |
| Published titles | |||
| 1998 | Starship Troopers: Battlespace | Microsoft Windows | |
| 1999 | Fierce Harmony | Microsoft Windows | |
References
edit- ^"News Corp.'S Kesmai Spins Off Publishing Division -- Launches New Games Service, Aries Online Games".gamestorm.com.September 16, 1996. Archived fromthe originalon February 3, 1999.RetrievedMay 1,2022.
- ^Pattie Joy (April 27, 1994). "NEWS CORP. BUYS KESMAI".USA Today.
- ^Ben Potter (April 27, 1994). "News buys top US online games maker".The Age.
- ^John Voland (November 24, 1997). "GAMERS GANGING UP: Four online companies team in GameStorm".Daily Variety.
- ^Svensson, Christian (April 1998). "Joyriding".Next Generation.No. 40.Imagine Media.p. 30.
- ^Craig Menefee (September 30, 1997). "Gamer Firm Kesmai Sues America Online".Newsbytes.
- ^Bob Woods (July 7, 1998). "Kesmai, America Online Settle Lawsuit".Newsbytes.
- ^"Electronic Arts Announces Agreement to Acquire News Corp. Online Game Unit, Kesmai".Business Wire.November 22, 1999. Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 3,2021– viaThe Free Dictionary.
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