Melbourne House

An Australian video game publisher and developer active in the 1980s, known for home computer games and text adventures.

Action

Adventure

Founded

1977

Acquired

2006

HQ

Melbourne, Australia

Parent

Krome Studios

Known for

Adventure / Role-playing / Strategy

26

Games

1983–1990

Years

4

Platforms

$36.94

Ø CIB

+15.4%

24M change

About

Melbourne House was a prominent publisher in the 1980s, famous for releasing the Horace series including Hungry Horace and Horace Goes Skiing, as well as text adventures like The Hobbit, Sherlock, Hampstead, and Castle of Terror. They also published other notable titles such as Circus and Barbarian, and were responsible for home computer ports of the Double Dragon franchise.

Founded in 1977 by Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen, the company initially operated as a book publisher before transitioning into the interactive entertainment sector. Within the broader Double Dragon franchise ecosystem, Melbourne House established a unique portfolio by integrating narrative-driven gameplay and character-centric action. The publisher pushed technical boundaries on 8-bit microcomputers like the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

The franchise's diverse offerings under this label expanded through the parser-driven mechanics of The Hobbit (1983), Sherlock (1984), Hampstead (1984), and the horror-themed Castle Of Terror (1984). These titles sat alongside the action-oriented entries of the same franchise, including the mascot-driven Hungry Horace (1983) and Horace Goes Skiing (1984), the physical agility challenges of Circus (1983), and the combative gameplay of Barbarian (1984). This collective body of work solidified the publisher's reputation for adapting complex literary and arcade concepts into cohesive home system experiences. Following acquisition by Mastertronic in 1987, the brand's development arm continued to influence the industry under various parent companies, leaving a lasting legacy of early software innovation.