Interplay in danger of bankruptcy

Following up on our earlier story regarding the fate of Interplay's Fallout MMO, GamesIndustry.biz has learned through a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the struggling publisher is in danger of liquidation or bankruptcy.

According to the filing, Interplay ended 2008 with a cash balance of USD 0 and a deficit of approximately USD 2.4 million. The publisher is actively seeking financing or income, without which it will be forced to liquidate assets, sell the company or face bankruptcy.

"We continue to seek external sources of funding," Interplay said, "including but not limited to, incurring debt, the selling of assets or securities, licensing of certain product rights in selected territories, selected distribution agreements, and/or other strategic transactions sufficient to provide short-term funding, and achieve our long-term strategic objectives."

The report indicated that Interplay currently has only one project undergoing internal development, an MMO with the codename "Project: V13," believed to be the Fallout MMO first announced one year ago. Interplay has four other projects in early design stages, but without any cash in its coffers, it is unable to fund development.

The filing also revealed Interplay's head count at the end of 2008, which included only seven employees - four in game development, and three in "finance, general and administrative" positions.

Interplay retains the rights to a number of its old franchises, including Earthworm Jim, Dark Alliance, Descent, and MDK, all of which the publisher plans to develop sequels for. However, if Interplay is unable to receive positive cash flow, it may be forced to sell these off, as it did with Fallout two years ago.