The ill-advised business software that helped sink videogame pioneers Infocom now runs on modern PCs: ‘It’s a new age for aficionados of failed 1985 database products!’
Infocom, the legendary interactive fiction studio behind seminal games like Zork, The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and A Mind Forever Voyaging, made a fateful business decision in the 1980s that would contribute to its eventual collapse: adopting Cornerstone, an ill-conceived database application developed in 1985.
While Infocom achieved iconic status for its imaginative text adventures and sophisticated storytelling, the company’s diversification into business software proved disastrous. Cornerstone, intended to modernize the company’s operations, instead became a resource drain that distracted from Infocom’s core strength in game development. The product failed to gain traction in the competitive database market and ultimately contributed to the company’s financial troubles that led to its closure.
Now, decades later, enthusiasts and preservationists have successfully ported Cornerstone to run on modern PC systems. This unexpected resurrection serves as a curiosity for both vintage computing aficionados and Infocom historians—a tangible reminder of the company’s ambitious but ultimately misguided venture beyond game development. The move reflects growing interest in software preservation and digital history, allowing new audiences to experience both the promise and limitations of 1980s business computing.
For Infocom devotees, Cornerstone represents a cautionary tale about mission creep and the perils of straying from proven expertise. Yet its preservation also acknowledges an often-overlooked chapter in the studio’s complex legacy, ensuring that even its commercial missteps are remembered alongside its revolutionary achievements in interactive fiction.