Kingsoft GmbH

Kingsoft GmbH

Company type	GmbH
Industry	Video games
Founded	1982
Founder	Fritz Schäfer
Defunct	1995
Fate	Acquired by Electronic Arts; brand discontinued
Successor	Electronic Arts (distribution)
Headquarters	Aachen , Germany
Area served	Germany
Key people	Fritz Schäfer (founder), Marc Oberhäuser (accounting manager), Norbert Beckers (development director)
Products	Video games, video game distribution
Number of employees	20 (1994)
Parent	Electronic Arts (from 1995)

Kingsoft GmbH was a German video game company headquartered in Aachen. Established in 1982 by Fritz Schäfer from his family home in Mulartshütte (Roetgen), the firm debuted with the chess simulation title Boss (later renamed Grandmaster), which had been developed the year before. In 1983, Kingsoft branched into third-party publishing, starting with Galaxy by Henrik Wening. Its catalog mainly catered to Commodore International systems, particularly the Commodore 64, Commodore 16, and eventually the Amiga, frequently adapting software from other platforms. The company moved its base to Aachen in 1987, launched a distribution division, and by 1993 concentrated solely on distribution activities. Kingsoft was purchased by Electronic Arts in March 1995, which discontinued the brand later that year.

Origins and establishment (1978–1982)

While studying electrical engineering at RWTH Aachen University, Fritz Schäfer began programming on a secondhand Commodore PET 2001 acquired in 1978. Initially planning to resell the device, he created simple games using BASIC and subsequently assembler. Recognizing the expanding German market for chess computers—priced from several hundred up to over 1,000 Deutsche Mark (DM)—Schäfer collaborated with a friend to develop the chess game Boss, intending to convert his PET into a chess-playing machine.

Following the launch of Commodore's VIC-20 in 1981, which offered improved graphics but lacked a chess program, Schäfer adapted Boss for this new platform. To commercialize the software, he founded Kingsoft GmbH in 1982 from his parents' residence in Mulartshütte.

Kingsoft sold Boss directly to consumers at a price of 900 DM through small advertisements placed in the German computer trade publication Chip. Orders were processed manually and fulfilled via cassette or floppy disk. The product quickly gained popularity, attracting buyers such as computer scientist Konrad Zuse. Meanwhile, Schäfer undertook minor projects for software company Vobis, utilizing contacts from previous employment.

At the 1982 Hobbytronic exhibition in Stuttgart, Schäfer demonstrated Boss competing against grandmaster Theo Schuster, who nearly lost to the program. This event significantly enhanced Boss’s visibility and was heavily leveraged for marketing purposes.

Growth into third-party publishing (1983–1986)

After successful releases on the PET and VIC-20 platforms, Boss was ported to the Commodore 64 (C64). Schäfer secured international distribution agreements; however, due to unfavorable English connotations of "Boss," the game was renamed Grandmaster (or Grand Master) for global markets. In the United Kingdom, it was published by Audiogenic. These arrangements laid the groundwork for Kingsoft’s publishing achievements. In 1983, Kingsoft launched its first third-party title, Galaxy, a clone of Galaga developed by Henrik Wening. The company actively sought developers through advertisements in German trade magazines such as Chip, becoming an important platform for German game creators. Without an internal development team, Kingsoft acquired rights to promising third-party games via contracts often involving four- to five-digit sums. Kingsoft managed distribution within Germany while Anirog handled UK sales.

In 1984, two additional Wening games were released: Zaga, inspired by Zaxxon, and Space-Pilot, based on Time Pilot. Space-Pilot achieved strong sales in Britain, followed by a less successful sequel in 1985. Kingsoft also published platformer Tom, sports title Winter-Olympiade (marketed as Winter Events in the UK), and its follow-up Sommer-Olympiade (Summer Events), all created by Udo Gertz.

The introduction of Commodore's budget-friendly Commodore 16 (C16) in 1985 saw limited commercial success. Leveraging Commodore's sponsorship of German football club FC Bayern München, manager Uli Hoeneß arranged a 1986 partnership with discounter Aldi to distribute C16 units bundled with software brochures. Due to scarce C16 game publishers in Germany and Schäfer’s connections at Commodore Germany, Kingsoft was commissioned to produce these pamphlets. The company ported several titles—including Grandmaster, Galaxy, Tom, and Ghost Town—which were packaged as the Plus Paket 16 ("Plus Package 16") retailing for . Schäfer also authored Das große C-16-Buch ("The Great C-16 Book'"). Marketed as BASIC training computers with accompanying data disks, approximately 200,000 C16 units were sold.

Transition to distribution and acquisition (1987–1995)

Building on success with C16 software sales, Kingsoft relocated in 1987 from Schäfer's parents’ home to dedicated offices with warehouse facilities in Aachen. From this base, it introduced tailored distribution services supplying retailers such as Allkauf, Toys "R" Us, and Vobis. While this expansion increased operating expenses—including rent and salaries—it was driven by a desire to maintain independence. As C16 sales waned, Kingsoft shifted focus toward Amiga titles by 1988, offering games priced below the typical Template:DM threshold. Notable releases included Pinball Wizard, Volker Wertich’s acclaimed Emerald Mine (1987) and its sequel, licensed title Hägar der Schreckliche (1991), and Locomotion (1992). Other Amiga offerings comprised Excalibur, Corpio, and Cybernauts. By this stage, staff numbers had risen to around 12–13 employees—with six full-time personnel—including accounting manager Marc Oberhäuser and development director Norbert Beckers overseeing growing production costs.

In 1993, Kingsoft discontinued publishing activities to concentrate exclusively on distribution services. Concurrently, Schäfer founded Ikarion Software GmbH as an independent development studio. As a distributor, Kingsoft became appealing for companies aiming at entry into the German market. By 1994, it employed approximately 20 people and reported revenues of Template:DM. On March 8, 1995, Electronic Arts (EA) acquired Kingsoft for an undisclosed amount. Subsequently serving as EA’s German distribution hub connecting EA with local retailers and markets, Kingsoft faced competition from bidders including Rushware and MicroProse. The Kingsoft brand was phased out shortly after acquisition; Schäfer departed to focus on Ikarion until its closure in 2001.

Later attempts by Schäfer to revive the Kingsoft name for the casual mobile game Busy Bags on Android and iOS were impeded when EA declined to clarify rights concerning the brand name. Consequently, he released the title under "Shepps," a blend of "Shepard" and "Apps," intended for future projects under that label.