The game features no sound. Personal Software Services was founded in Coventry, England, by Gary Mays and Richard Cockayne in November 1981. The company was known for creating games that revolved around historic war battles and conflicts, such as "Theatre Europe", "Bismarck" and "Falklands '82". The company had a partnership with French video game developer ERE Informatique, and published localised versions of their products to the United Kingdom. The "Strategic Wargames" series was conceptualised by software designer Alan Steel in 1984. During development of these titles, Steel would often research the topic of the upcoming game and pass on the findings to other associates in Coventry and London. Some games of the series were met with controversy upon release, such as "Theatre Europe". In 1983, the company received recognition for being "one of the top software houses" in the United Kingdom, and was a finalist for BBC Radio 4's "New Business Enterprise Award" for that year. "Austerlitz" was developed by Peter Turcan, who also developed similar turn-based strategies, such as "Waterloo" and "Borodino" for the Atari ST. The game was previewed in an issue of "Crash" in July 1989. In 1986, Cockayne took a decision to alter their products for release on 16-bit consoles, as he found that smaller 8-bit consoles, such as the ZX Spectrum, lacked the processing power for larger strategy games. The decision was falsely interpreted as "pulling out" from the Spectrum market by video game journalist Phillipa Irving. Following years of successful sales throughout the mid 1980s, Personal Software Services experienced financial difficulties, in what Cockayne admitted in a retrospective interview that "he took his eye off the ball". The company was acquired by Mirrorsoft in February 1987, and was later dispossessed by the company due to strains of debt. The game received mostly positive reviews upon release. John Highcliffe of "The Games Machine" praised the historical accuracy of the game, stating that gamers with an interest with the era would enjoy the game. However, Highcliffe expressed concern over the slow pace of the game. Alain Huyghes-Lacour of "Tilt" praised the game's graphics and 3D presentation of the battle, stating that it exceeded the benchmark set by other wargames. Mark Higham of "ST Format" questioned the historical accuracy, stating that during the real battle French forces used smoke grenades frequently, and criticised the lack of this inclusion in the game.