Starwave

{{Short description|Defunct software and website company}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Starwave Corporation

| logo =

| type =

| fate = Acquired by The Walt Disney Company, 1998

| Predecessor =

| successor = Walt Disney Internet Group

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1993}}

| defunct = {{End date and age|1998}}

| location = Bellevue, Washington, U.S.

| industry = Digital content

| products =

| key_people = Paul Allen, Mike Slade, Patrick Naughton

| num_employees =

| parent =

| subsid =

}}

Starwave was a Seattle, Washington-based software and website company, founded in 1993 by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and led by CEO Mike Slade.{{cite web|url=http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2016/09/mike-slade-on-80s-microsoft-next-starwave-and-steve-jobs-return-to-apple/|title=Mike Slade on 80s Microsoft, NeXT, Starwave and Steve Jobs' Return to Apple|access-date=2019-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606091705/http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2016/09/mike-slade-on-80s-microsoft-next-starwave-and-steve-jobs-return-to-apple/|archive-date=2019-06-06|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.geekwire.com/2016/how-this-seattle-venture-capitalist-ended-up-being-the-subject-of-espns-hilarious-new-ad-campaign/|title=How this Seattle venture capitalist ended up being the subject of ESPN's hilarious new ad campaign|date=25 January 2016|access-date=9 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628133424/https://www.geekwire.com/2016/how-this-seattle-venture-capitalist-ended-up-being-the-subject-of-espns-hilarious-new-ad-campaign/|archive-date=28 June 2019|url-status=live}} The company produced original CD-ROM titles, including Muppets Inside, and titles for Clint Eastwood, Sting,{{cite web|title=Starwave Teams With Sting and A&M Records To Create Interactive CD-ROMs|work=Business Wire|date=30 May 1995|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1995_May_30/ai_16928651|accessdate=24 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709192619/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1995_May_30/ai_16928651/|archive-date=9 July 2009|url-status=live}} and Peter Gabriel. They were the original developers of Castle Infinity, the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game for children, but Starwave's most lasting mark was in the area of web content sites. They developed ESPN.com, ABCNEWS.com, Outside Online, and Mr. Showbiz.com among other sites, setting the standard for much of the commercial Internet explosion of the late 1990s. Starwave also developed the first site and publishing system for Jim Cramer's TheStreet.com.