Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord

Development

Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord was first in development at Big Time Software helmed by Charles Moylan, but when it became apparent that its publishing company Avalon Hill would be acquired by Hasbro Interactive, the studio was absorbed into Battlefront.com in 1999, which Moyan co-founded a few years before, and where the development team was expanded.

Distribution

Battlefront designed and produced this game, and originally the only way to buy it was through their website. Why? They believe the gaming industry is unfair to wargames, and decided to produce and sell the game themselves. Later, CDV picked it up in a distribution deal, after packaging it with over 100 user contributed scenarios, improved textures, vehicles, and more. The result is a "special edition" which can only be found in stores.

References

The names of in-game Polish soldiers have been taken from names of contemporary Polish politicians (such as Buzek, Frasyniuk, Kuroń, Niesiołowski or Kwaśniewski). Non-Polish players probably won't notice, but for someone from Poland it's an amusing experience to see the famous politicians commandeering battalions.

Awards

• Computer Gaming World
  • April 2001 (Issue #201) – Wargame of the Year
• PC Gamer
  • October 2001 - #50 in the "Top 50 Games of All Time" list

Information also contributed by Grov, JudgeDredd, Kasey Chang and Sciere