Magic Bytes

Micro-Partner was founded by Thomas Meiertoberens, coming from Rainbow Arts of which he was co-founder, in 1986 in Gütersloh, Germany. At that time the initial team was formed by the owner Meiertoberens, the programmer Rolf Lakämper and the graphic designer Bettina Wiedner, all three in their twenties, and made itself known with the success of Mission Elevator, published in different countries of the world, the first German video game to have notable international success. In 1986, Meiertoberens obtained licenses to produce and market video games in Europe of comic characters Clever & Smart, Pink Panther and Tom & Jerry. The Magic Bytes brand was created in 1987 and was subsequently used to publish almost all micro-partner's games. Magic Bytes debut took place in 1987 with the European release of Western Games and Clever & Smart. Most games were adapted for Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore C64 & Amiga, some for MSX, ZX Spectrum and later mostly for PC's.{{Cite book|last=Forster|first=Winnie|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/299155658|title=Computer- und Video-Spielmacher [das Lexikon der Spieldesigner und Programmierer, internationalen Teams und Verlage]|date=2008|isbn=978-3-00-021584-1|location=Utting|oclc=299155658}}{{Cite web|title=Das ASM Interview, in Aktueller Software Markt, n. 8, Eschwege, Tronic Verlag, October/November 1986, p. 81, ISSN 0933-1867.|url=https://archive.org/details/Aktueller_Software_Markt_-_Ausgabe_1986.08/page/n80/mode/2up?view=theater}}{{Cite web|title=Erste Schappschuesse aus Gütersloh!, in Aktueller Software Markt, n. 11, Eschwege, Tronic Verlag, November 1988, p. 18, ISSN 0933-1867.|url=https://archive.org/details/Aktueller_Software_Markt_-_Ausgabe_1988.11/page/n13?view=theater}}{{Cite web|title=Der neue Stern am Software-Himmel: Golden Goblins, in Aktueller Software Markt, n. 12, Eschwege, Tronic Verlag, December 1988, pp. 40-41, ISSN 0933-1867.|url=https://archive.org/details/Aktueller_Software_Markt_-_Ausgabe_1988.12/page/n39/mode/2up?view=theater}}

On May 20, 1988, Meiertoberens founded an US counterpart, Magic Bytes USA Inc., in Tampa and agreed with US company Digitek, also in Tampa, to mutually publish the other company's titles on their continent and micro-partner published Digitek games in Europe under the Magic Bytes label.{{Cite web|title=MAGIC BYTES USA, INC. - TAMPA|url=https://www.commerceflorida.com/company/M81872/magic-bytes-usa-inc|access-date=2021-09-02|website=www.commerceflorida.com}}

In 1991, micro-partner ceased operations due to non-payment of some of their wholesalers and publishing rights for Magic Bytes games changed to Magic Bytes Verlag R. Kleinegräber in German speaking countries and Magic Bytes Verlag started selling video games directly to end-users by mail-order or to Karstadt department stores. Magic Bytes Verlag started publishing video games from external German game developers and had notable success in Germany with BIING{{Cite book|last=Joker Verlag|first=Grasbrunn|url=http://archive.org/details/pcjokerseptember1996images|title=PC Joker September 1996|date=1996-08-23}} from reLINE in 1993 and Have a N.I.C.E. day from Synetic in 1997.{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/pcgamesmagazine-1997-02|title=PC Games Magazine (February 1997)|date=February 1997}} In 2000, the last Magic Bytes game was released for that time period.

In 2017, Thomas Meiertoberens, who in the meantime had moved to the United States in 1997 to manage a real estate company, brought the brand back into business by founding Magic Bytes LLC, of which he is CEO. The new US company, headquartered in Lewes and operating with representatives in Orlando and Bielefeld, Germany, is developing an Android game called Toonworld of which an early access version has been released in February 2021.

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• {{Official website|https://www.magicbytes.com/}}

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Category:Video game companies established in 1986

Category:Video game companies of Germany

Category:Video game development

Category:Video game publishers