The game that broke a studio - Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War

Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War was the third title by Stainless Steel Studios - the creators of Empire Earth. Unfortunately it didn't turn out that great, the developer went under and it was finished by the publisher. Not only did it have some really interesting ideas, it also had a story behind it that's often mispresented whenever it is retold. Let's look at the game, examine what happened in detail and see if the whole "amazing studio crushed by bad publisher" narrative holds up.