| Crimson Skies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Jordan Weisman Dave McCoy |
| Original work | Crimson Skies (1998) |
| Owner | Xbox Game Studios (Microsoft Gaming) |
| Print publications | |
| Book(s) | List |
| Games | |
| Traditional |
|
| Video game(s) |
|
Crimson Skies is a tabletop and a video game media franchise created by Jordan Weisman and Dave McCoy, first released as a board game in 1998 and then as a PC game in 2000.
The series' intellectual property is currently owned by Microsoft Corporation through its Xbox Game Studios division. Weisman's former company, Smith & Tinker Inc., had announced in 2007 that it had licensed the electronic entertainment rights to the franchise, but no new titles were developed.[1] The Crimson Skies trademark was renewed in 2013 by Microsoft for video games, although the trademark for other related media has been abandoned.[2]
The series is set within an alternate history of the 1930s invented by Weisman and McCoy. Within this divergent timeline, the United States has collapsed, and air travel has become the most popular mode of transportation in North America; as a result, air pirates thrive in the world of Crimson Skies. In describing the concept of Crimson Skies, Jordan Weisman stated he wanted to "take the idea of 16th century Caribbean piracy and translate into a 1930s American setting".[3]
Crimson Skies was first conceived as a PC game known as Corsairs!, but was released first as a board game from FASA. The franchise has since expanded to include a collectible miniatures game from Wizkids, as well as a series of books. The series also includes two arcade flight-based video games published by Microsoft Game Studios – Crimson Skies for the PC and Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge for the Xbox. Both games were well received by critics, though only the second was commercially successful.
Crimson Skies is an example of the dieselpunk genre,[4][5][6] though it predated the genre name.
- ^ "Smith & Tinker - News". Smith & Tinker Inc. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
- ^ "Record List Display". USPTO. 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
- ^ Butts, Stephen (2000). "Crimson Skies Preview". IGN. Archived from the original on April 17, 2002. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ Krzysztof, Janicz (2008). ""Chronologia dieselpunku" (in Polish)". Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
- ^ "4.2 Dieselpunk and the Gaming Industry". dieselpunksencyclopedia.wordpress.com. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
- ^ "Jordan Weisman hopes to resurrect Crimson Skies". shacknews.com. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-17.