Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a role-playing game developed by Troika Games and published by Sierra On-Line for Windows on 21 August 2001. Jason D. Anderson, Leonard Boyarsky and Timothy Cain designed it, and the game offers both single-player and multiplayer modes.
Its soundtrack stands out: Ben Houge scored it almost entirely for string quartet, and Forbes included it in its 2012 list of the 12 best video game soundtracks. Arcanum debuted at number 4 on NPD Intelect's chart for the week ending 25 August 2001.
Computer Games Magazine named it the best RPG of 2001, tied with Wizardry 8. Official support ended with patch 1.0.7.4 in October 2001, and the community carried on fixing the game with unofficial patches.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | Windows | Aug 21, 2001 | Sierra On-Line | 1 |
| EU | Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | Windows | Aug 24, 2001 | Sierra On-Line | 1 |
| WW | Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick ObscuraSteam release. | Windows | Aug 29, 2016 | Activision | 2 |
Also known as: Arcanum WW1
Version differences
-
Bug fixRelease version
At release the game had problems with some video cards and drivers, and its SecuROM copy protection conflicted with some sound cards and CD-ROM drives.1
-
Bug fixPatch 1.0.7.4
The last official patch, 1.0.7.4, came out in October 2001; later fixes came from unofficial community patches, such as one released in December 2009.1
-
Bug fixGOG.com
A GOG update in November 2024 added DDrawCompat for modern displays, pinned the game to one CPU core and fixed a black screen on Alt-Tab.3
Where to play legally today
-
GOG Purchase
-
Steam Purchase
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Windows; English
Checked: 2026-10-132store.steampowered.com
How to run it today
The GOG edition is verified on Windows 10 and 11 and includes compatibility fixes such as DDrawCompat; the game is also sold on Steam. Unofficial community patches continue the bug fixing after the last official patch, 1.0.7.4.
- Arcanum on GOG gog.com
Reception
Arcanum holds 81/100 on Metacritic and sold 234,000 copies by February 2005, making it Troika's best-selling game. It won Role-Playing Game of the Year from PC Gamer US, RPG Vault, The Electric Playground and IGN.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.