14 DAY TRIAL // Warner Bros. has made a bid of no less than 33 million dollars for the acquisition of Midway Games, which has recently declared bankruptcy. Initially, the company, which was sold to an investor for just 100,000 dollars, stated that it expected to be acquired by a suitor willing to pay at least 30 million dollars for it.
The deal is said to include the Mortal Kombat intellectual property rights and the development studios that Midway has in Chicago and Seattle. It seems that the TNA franchise is not targeted by Warner Bros. and that the studio in San Diego will be closed down or spun off. It's not clear what status the Newcastle studio that developed The Wheelman has in the bid. It is not known whether Midway will be acquired by Warner Bros. or whether the latter will break up the company and use its assets separately, but it may also keep it together and even continue to use the name of the publisher.
Apparently, Midway is also talking with other “interested parties” in what's called a “stalking horse” bid. It allows for a bankrupt company to enter into an initial agreement with a buyer while also talking to other firms in order to make sure that its assets are acquired at a competitive price. Warner Bros. made the initial bid but it's not clear whether it will surely go through. Midway has not said which are the other potential suitors.
Warner Bros. seems to be very interested in becoming a gaming powerhouse. At the moment, it owns Monolith Studios, the creators of the F.E.A.R. franchise, Snowblind Studios and TT Games, also known as Traveller's Tales. The company is primarily interested in creating videogames based on its movie releases, with original projects coming in second.