The game was developed by
Atomic Games, as the fourth game in the Close Combat series.[4] Atomic had made the first three games for
Microsoft, but the publisher had ended the series after the release of Close Combat III: The Russian Front.[5][6] While all three games had been profitable, Marc Dultz of CNET Gamecenter reported "indications that the company is now only interested in publishing games that have the potential of selling 250,000 units or more."[7] Atomic reacted by splitting from Microsoft and migrating to
Mindscape's
Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) label in April 1999,[5] in order to create Battle of the Bulge.[4]
It was a finalist for Computer Games Strategy Plus' 1999 "Wargame of the Year" prize, although it lost to Panzer Campaigns I: Smolensk '41. The staff wrote, "Atomic Games’ innovative series finds a new home but retains its high-quality gameplay."[18] The game was also a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1999 "Wargame of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Sid Meier's Antietam![19] The staff wrote that the former was the latter's only "serious competition" for the award, but was hampered by "AI quirks and mysteriously reincarnating units".[19]
Sequel
Following the game, Atomic began work on a fifth Close Combat game with SSI in early 2000.[20] However, Mindscape had since been sold to
Mattel when that company bought
The Learning Company, Mindscape's parent, for $3.5 billion in 1999.[21][22][23] As a result, Close Combat V was published by
Mattel Interactive,[24] a financially unstable company. Computer Games Magazine's Robert Mayer noted in September 2000 that "the future of this game series is up in the air—Mattel Interactive is perennially on the trading block, and Atomic ... has lost some key staff members in recent months".[24] Late in September, Mattel sold The Learning Company at a bargain price to
The Gores Group. A spokesman for the new managers announced that they expected to make it "profitable within six months."[21] The fifth Close Combat, subtitled Invasion: Normandy, was released in October.