Pharaoh (video game)

Pharaoh
Developer(s)Impressions Games (Pharaoh)
BreakAway Games (Cleopatra)
Publisher(s)Sierra Studios
Producer(s)
  • Ken Parker
  • Greg Sheppard
Designer(s)Chris Beatrice
Programmer(s)Mike Gingerich
Artist(s)
  • Darrin Horbal
  • Heidi Mann
  • Mike Malone
Writer(s)Lisa Gagnon
Composer(s)
SeriesCity Building
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile
  • NA: 14 July 2000[4]
  • EU: 15 September 2000
Genre(s)City-building
Mode(s)Single-player

Pharaoh is an isometric city-building game released in November 1999. It was created by Impressions Games and published by Sierra Studios for Microsoft Windows. Using the same game engine and principles of Caesar III (also by Sierra Entertainment), it is the first such game in Sierra's City Building series to focus on another civilization of ancient times. Players oversee the construction and management of cities and settlements in Ancient Egypt, micro-managing every aspect of the city to ensure citizens are fed, employed, healthy and protected from diseases, disasters and wars. An expansion pack, Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile (known as simply Cleopatra), was released in 2000, developed by BreakAway Games. In 2001, both the game and expansion pack were bundled together as Pharaoh Gold.[5] A remake titled Pharaoh: A New Era was released by Triskell Interactive and Dotemu in 2023.[6]

  1. ^ "Gone Gold : EuroGold". 10 February 2001. Archived from the original on 10 February 2001. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  2. ^ Mullen, Micheal (2 November 1999). "Pharaoh Development-Team Chat". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 7 July 2001. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  3. ^ "New Newsletter - City Builders Forums". caesar3.heavengames.com. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  4. ^ Fudge, James (6 July 2000). "Cleopatra Goes Gold". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 May 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  5. ^ "The Sierra Chest – Pharaoh Gold". The Sierra Chest. Sierra Entertainment. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  6. ^ Pelliccio, Meg (15 February 2023). "Pharaoh: A New Era Review - A Godsend". TheGamer.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.