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Sierra On-Line is founded
The company is originally known as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams, in Simi Valley, California -
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The Wizard & the Princess and Hi-Res Adventures
Roberta designs her second game, The Wizard and the Princess, in 1980, and it sells over 60,000 copies. Her games are part of a series known as the "Hi-Res Adventures" series, and the most popular one is known as King's Quest. -
Roberta Williams writes and designs her first game, Mystery House
After playing a text-based game called Colossal Cave, Roberta decides to search for more adventure games - and finds that there are very few available. She writes a game called "Mystery House", with no experience in programming or game design - just the help from her husband Ken. The game is written for the Apple II computer and has black and white graphics - it's the first computer game to ever include graphics. -
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Gaining Interest
Roberta & Ken drive from store-to-store selling Mystery House to various computer stores around the West Coast, along with games by Scott Adams, cofounder of Adventure International. Interest in these games rises - the idea of graphic adventure games is entirely new, and they put out an ad in for Mystery House in a computer magazine that is rather successful, inspiring them to start a company, On-Line Systems. -
Sierra On-Line officially becomes "Sierra On-Line"
The company is renamed Sierra On-Line, Ken Williams quits his job, and the two move to Oakhurst, California -
Ken & Roberta Williams are contacted to design for the PCjr
IBM contacts Ken & Roberta Williams/Sierra to design a game for its new home computer, the PCjr, with its development entirely funded by IBM -
King's Quest I is released
King's Quest redefines the concept of adventure gaming (and games in general) and surprises the games industry - instead of typing commands, the character and world are both animated and movement happens. It is the first game to implement graphical animation into games for the players, and with that, it becomes one of the most popular (and revolutionary) games of all time. -
The Adventure Game Interpreter is developed
The AGI was a game engine developed by Sierra On-Line built to run colorful and animated adventure games that typically included sound and music effects, one of the first of its kind. -
Sierra's Creative Interpreter is developed
A better version of the AGI, this engine/scripting language allowed for expanded capabilities in graphics and sound. Five major versions of it were released. -
King's Quest V is released
Also designed and written by Roberta, King's Quest V is one of the first games to use a "no-typing", better known as "point-and-click" interface, once again revolutionizing computer gaming. It is made available on the NES, floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, and for the Atari ST. -
Sierra & Broderbund avoid a merger
Merger discussion between Sierra On-Line and another company, Broderbund, ends in March 1991. -
Mixed-Up Mother Goose (VGA/Multimedia CD) is released
Roberta Williams' Mixed-Up Mother Goose is the first multimedia game to be released on CD-ROM. Originally released in 1987, its development for CD begins in 1988, but is not shipped out until 1990. This remake/port is one of 4. -
CUC International buys Sierra
Sierra is purchased for 1.5 billion dollars by CUC International. -
Ken & Roberta leave CUC International
After the company is sold and Ken steps down as CEO, a year goes by, and the original founders both leave the company it's sold to, making Sierra Ent. no longer one of their properties. -
Half-Life is published for the PC
Sierra publishes Half-Life for the PC in 1998, though it is developed by Valve Corporation. It goes on to be recognized by many as one of the greatest video games of all time.
