Supersoft was a computer games and software developer and publisher founded in England in 1978. It was founded by Peter Calver and Pearl Wellard to develop and publish software primarily for Commodore PET.
In 1980, Supersoft released the first user-installable firmware product to be developed in the UK, the Petmaster Superchip. The following year, the company expanded into hardware with the launch of a high-resolution graphics card for the Commodore PET.
Originally run from the founders' home in Eastcote, Middlesex, the company moved to the Wealdstone offices in 1981.
The first games published by Supersoft for the Commodore PET included Air Attack (see the Blitz computer game) and Super Glooper, the latter based on the popular arcade game Pac-Man. A text adventure game based on Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was withdrawn following legal action. The game's programmer, Bob Chappell, rewrote the game to remove all references to Hitchhiker, and Supersoft republished it as “Cosmic Capers.” The most successful business program developed by Supersoft was Busicalc, a spreadsheet program originally produced for Commodore PET, and converted into Vic-20 and Commodore 64; was one of Supersoft's most successful products in the UK and became the company's first and most successful product in the US, where it was released under license by Skyles Electric Works.
In 1984 development began on a cricket game for the Commodore 64, which was programmed by Michael McLean and released the following year as Graham Gooch's Test Cricket by Audiogenic Software, a newly formed subsidiary of Supersoft. From 1985 onwards, Supersoft focused on home office programs and utilities, as the Audiogenic name was better known in the gaming business.
In 1987, Supersoft released Microvox, a high-quality digital sampler for the Commodore 64 that, with accompanying software, was developed by Andrew Trott. While only hundreds were sold (the device cost more than the computer), many were used by serious musicians and in professional studios, and one was provided to Feargal Sharkey, the former lead singer of The Undertones.
Although Supersoft still exists, the company has not developed any new products for retail sale since 1990. The company is wholly owned by Peter Calver.