Battle of Britain was developed by
TalonSoft and was designed by
Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors.[3] The pair had previously co-created the Steel Panthers series at
Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI), but had left the company in late 1997 to join TalonSoft, with the stated goal of making a wargame based on the Battle of Britain.[4] It was planned as the pair's first of three games for TalonSoft,[5] and was originally entitled Battle of Britain 1941 and set for a release date of August 1998.[6] According to Alan Dunkin of GameSpot, the game was envisioned as a semi-
remake of Grigsby's earlier game U.S.A.A.F. - United States Army Air Force.[2] It was Grigsby's first attempt at an air-combat title since U.S.A.A.F.; the subject matter was relatively rare in computer wargames at the time.[7] Grigsby and Brors developed the game while simultaneously working on a fourth Steel Panthers game at SSI.[8]
According to David Chong of Computer Games Strategy Plus, critical reactions toward the game were "lukewarm",[19] as it received above-average reviews according to the
review aggregation website
GameRankings.[10] Reviewing the game for PC Gamer US,
William R. Trotter concluded, "There's a lot to admire in the depth and accuracy of this simulation, but you'd better be a serious student of the World War Two air war. For everyone else, it may just be too much work."[3]
Legacy
In late 1999, the game received a "follow-up" game from TalonSoft, entitled 12 O'Clock High: Bombing the Reich. It was again designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors.[20] It reused the
game engine from Battle of Britain.[19] In 2009, publisher
Matrix Games reworked and re-released the game and 12 O'Clock High together as Gary Grigsby's Eagle Day to Bombing the Reich.[21]
^Chick, Tom (April 19, 1999).
"Battle of Britain". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from
the original on March 4, 2003. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
^Case, Loyd (August 1999). "Spreadsheets and Spitfires (Battle of Britain Review)". Computer Gaming World. No. 181. Ziff Davis. p. 145.