14 DAY TRIAL // Gaming certainly has a lot of iconic companies that have brought great titles to a lot of gamer generations. Midway is one of them, bringing titles like Mortal Kombat, Unreal Tournament or The Lord of the Rings Online, to a variety of gamers who enjoyed them for quite some time.
Sadly, the company hasn't been doing too well in terms of money and finance and, as the recession did take its toll on other bigger corporations like Sony or Electronic Arts, the troubled developer and publisher wasn't spared. We have just received word that the company has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, meaning that it will enter a period of reorganization and rehabilitation whose main goal is to pay off its creditors.
“This was a difficult but necessary decision,” said Midway Chairman, President and CEO Matt Booty. “We have been focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution, and this filing will relieve the immediate pressure from our creditors and provide us time for an orderly exploration of our strategic alternatives. This Chapter 11 filing is the next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure.”
Booty said that although tough measures would be implemented, the sales of recent games would help the company: “Midway enters this process with strong underlying fundamentals, as evidenced by solid fourth quarter sales that exceeded expectations in spite of a challenging retail and general economic environment. Overall, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe sales are approaching two million units shipped, TNA iMPACT! has shipped approximately one million units, and our Game Party franchise has sold close to three million units in total.”
But as soon as the news reached the ears of the public, already a very ugly rumor appeared, according to which the upcoming Wheelman action adventure game, developed by Midway Newcastle in partnership with Tigon Studios, the company that belongs to Vin Diesel, which would feature the famous actor, will be acquired by French publisher Ubisoft and eventually renamed to enter its Driver series.
While such moves might be in the best interest of Midway, the representatives of both companies declined to make any comments on the subject. We certainly hope that Midway will overcome these tough times and will continue to make great games in the future.