a press release issued by Blue Byte in January 1999, by which time the game had sold 500,000 units, Thomas Hertzler stated: With the success of the game, and due to several other factors (for example, many pirated copies came with full artwork and instructions, and so appeared to be genuine copies, whilst even players with real copies of the game could encounter copy protection issues if they had certain viruses on their computers, or if they had older CD-ROMs), rumours began to circulate that the game was suffering from potentially game-breaking bugs, leading Blue Byte to issue a statement: Reception The Settlers III received mixed reviews, with an aggregate score of 71% on GameRankings, based on twenty-one reviews. Writing for PC Gamer (UK), James Flynn scored the game 90%, referring to it as "a much slicker, less fiddly and wonderfully deeper challenge" than the first two titles in the series. He especially praised the complexity of the economic system, which he lauded as "a perfectly designed, hugely detailed, interlinking chain which is utterly absorbing to construct". He was also impressed with the graphics, calling it "the best looking 2D strategy game ever". His only real criticism concerned combat, which he found difficult to control. PC Games Petra Maueröder scored it 88%, giving it a "PC Games Award" and naming it Game of the Month. She praised online multiplayer, the differentiation between the races, the implementation of manna, and combat, writing "the depth of the game is immense, and both the graphics and the multiplayer features set new standards". Her criticisms focused on the single-player campaign (which she called "streamlined [and] monotonous"), poor pathfinding for trade ships, weak AI, and occasionally misleading mission briefings. She felt that, cumulatively, these problems suggested the game may have been rushed through the final stages of development in time for the Christmas market. However, she concluded, "The Settlers III [is] beautifully presented, quickly learned, and fun for weeks". PC Players Thomas Werner scored it 85 out of 100, giving it a "Gold Player" award. He criticised the interface, writing "not every icon is self-explanatory, and it takes time until you feel at home", and the occasional difficulty in locating where in the production chain there may be a problem. However, he praised the graphics, character animations, level design and the tactical aspects of combat, concluding "The Settlers 3 is the best game in the