Editing Bill Stealey (section)

===MicroProse===
At a company function in Las Vegas in 1982, he was seated next to Meier, and discussed setting up a games business. The two spent time together in Vegas and competed against one another for high scores on a ''[[Red Baron (1980 video game)|Red Baron]]'' arcade cabinet. Stealey was shocked that Meier beat his score, considering he had actual pilot experience, but Meier's knowledge of video games was more important for the contest.<ref name=MeierMemoir/>

The two founded [[MicroProse]] Software, which published its first title ''[[Hellcat Ace]]'' later that year. At that time Stealey and Meier were the only employees, with Meier developing the titles and Stealey testing them and offering advice on military accuracy. The group were simply packaging floppy disks and printing labels in Stealey's basement, but found economic success quickly. Meier and Stealey would later purchase the exact ''Red Baron'' cabinet they had competed on as a memento. The group primarily produced flight simulators through the 1980s, such as ''[[F-15 Strike Eagle (video game)|F-15 Strike Eagle]]'' (1984).  Stealey's air force experience was used in their marketing for these titles, with Stealey appearing in military uniform at events. From the late 1980s Meier began to lose interest in flight simulators, and pushed to have his [[Sid Meier's Pirates!|idea for a pirate game]] made by the company. In response to Meier's insistence, Stealey declared that the game should be titled "Sid Meier’s pirate-whatever", which led to the continued use of a "Sid Meier's..." prefix on video games from the designer. This was carried on into the ''[[Civilization (series)|Civilization]]'' franchise and beyond Meier's work at MicroProse.<ref name=MeierMemoir/>

In 1988, the group purchased a [[North American T-28 Trojan]], which Stealey named "Miss MicroProse". He would fly games journalists in an effort to promote their games. He also ran a competition called ''I Cheated Death with Major Bill'' which selected three fans to fly with him on a "stunt-filled flight lesson". That year he was also responsible for setting up the collaboration with [[Tom Clancy]] for the military simulator ''[[Red Storm Rising (video game)|Red Storm Rising]]''. Stealey purchased Meier's half of the company in 1991, amid a disagreement over their direction. Stealey had believed in a resurgence of the arcade market, which ultimately failed and resulted in his sale of the company to [[Spectrum HoloByte]] in 1993.<ref name=MeierMemoir/> He resigned from the company following the merger and announced his retirement, with the intention to "play golf for a living".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Interactive Magic |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=21 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=September 1996|pages=109–110}}</ref><ref name=batchelor>{{cite web |last1=Batchelor |first1=James |title=The resurrection of MicroProse and return of "Wild Bill" Stealey |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-resurrection-of-microprose-and-return-of-wild-bill-stealey |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en |date=6 May 2020}}</ref> He retired from the military with the rank of lieutenant colonel.<ref>[https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2019-02-20/microprose-and-ientertainment-network-inc-announce-co-publishing-of-warbirds-2020-online-combat-flight-simulation MicroProse and iEntertainment Network Inc. Announce Co-Publishing of WarBirds 2020, Online Combat Flight Simulation: Bloomberg.com]</ref>