Micro Users Software Exchange, Inc.,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Muse Software, was an American

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

based in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, focusing on the development of games for the first generation of

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

s. The company began with developing games for

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

, and later expanded to the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit computers, and IBM PC compatibles. They are best known for creating the '' Wolfenstein'' series, having developed the first two installments: 1981's ''Castle Wolfenstein'' and its 1984 sequel, '' Beyond Castle Wolfenstein''. The brand name lapsed and was used by

id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...

History

Muse Software was incorporated by Ed Zaron on August 1, 1978, with Silas S. Warner becoming the first employee. Initially publishing games, the team also sold non-game software such as '' Super-Text'', a

word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word ...

written by Zaron, and '' Appilot'', a course-writing language written by Warner. Their original market was for the

, with their first programs sold on Compact audio cassette#Data recording, cassettes, and later on floppy disks. They expanded their software offerings for the Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64, plus ported both ''Castle Wolfenstein'' games to the IBM Personal Computer, IBM PC. The company also ran a retail store on the corner of Charles Street and Mulberry Street in Baltimore, called "Muse Software and Computer Center," which was closed down in 1982. At its peak, Muse was making more than per year in sales. According to Zaron, the growth of Muse's sales was "extremely slow" because of a slump in the home computer software market. The company, which had about 40 employees at its peak in 1983, had shrunk down to just six prior to filing for Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code, Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 1985. Warner, who was leaving Muse to join

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizat ...

, said the company had difficulty setting up a sales program because of the long-term illness of a key sales employee. Muse Software was found to be in forfeiture on October 7, 1987. In 1992,

released ''

Wolfenstein 3D ''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a 1992 first-person shooter game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen for DOS. It was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game '' Castle Wolfenstein'', and is the third installment ...

'', based on Muse Software's '' Wolfenstein''

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

. It brought the ''Wolfenstein'' brand to a much larger audience.

Games developed

References

{{Authority control Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1985 Defunct companies based in Baltimore Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game companies based in Maryland Video game companies disestablished in 1987 Video game companies established in 1978 Video game development companies