Sid Meier is considered by many in the game industry as one of the most influential game developers of all time. Often called the “godfather of computer gaming,” Meier has been making games since 1982 and has co-founded two legendary studios: MicroProse and Firaxis Games, where he still serves as Director of Creative Development.
From Cash Registers to Civilization
Born in Sarnia, Ontario to a family of Dutch and Swiss descent, Meier studied computer science at the University of Michigan. His gaming journey began in 1981 when he bought an Atari 800 while working on cash register systems for department stores. He spent his spare time recreating arcade classics — and even built an original space game for his office network that was so popular his employers forced him to remove it.
In 1982, Meier co-founded MicroProse Software with Bill Stealey after a trip to a Las Vegas arcade. The company released a string of breakthrough titles: F-15 Strike Eagle, Silent Service, and Sid Meier’s Pirates! — the first game to carry his name in the title, reportedly at the suggestion of actor Robin Williams.
Then came Civilization in 1991 — built by a team of just 8-10 people in under a year with only 640 kilobytes of memory. The franchise has since sold over 51 million copies and accumulated more than one billion hours of play. His most recent release, Civilization VII, launched in February 2025 across all major platforms.
A Man of Faith
Meier lives in Hunt Valley, Maryland with his wife Susan, whom he met at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cockeysville. He is a devout Christian and an active member of the church, where he plays organ and sings in the choir. He even blends and mixes voices and instruments to create a “Virtual Choir” for the congregation’s worship services.
His faith quietly shows up in his work, too — Civilization IV famously incorporates the world’s major religions into gameplay, allowing characters to adopt and spread different faiths. It’s a feature that helped make the game appealing to religiously-minded families while staying true to Meier’s belief that great games are about meaningful choices.
Awards and Legacy
Meier’s philosophy that a great game is “a series of interesting decisions” has shaped the entire strategy genre. His accolades reflect that impact:
- Second person ever inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame (1999), after Shigeru Miyamoto
- Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Developers Conference (2008)
- Inducted into the Guinness World Records for most video game industry awards
- Golden Joystick Awards Lifetime Achievement (2017)
Want to go deeper? Meier tells his full story in Sid Meier’s Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games — a look inside four decades of building worlds that millions have called home.
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