As publisher of the Baldur's Gate and Descent series, Interplay Entertainment was force to be reckoned with the 1990s. However, ever since it was taken over in 2001 by French publisher Titus Interactive, its fortunes have fallen. Founder Brian Fargo departed the next year, followed in 2003 by many of the talented developers forced out by the closure of Black Isle Studios. In 2004, the company was forced out of its headquarters for non payment of rent, laid off almost its entire staff, threatened by the California state authorities, and all but disappeared from public view.
In mid-2004, though, Interplay made headlines when it licensed its popular IP Fallout to acclaimed role-playing game developer-publishers Bethesda Softworks. The deal only covered console and PC Fallout titles, though. On the agreement's eve in 2004, Interplay CEO Herve Caen announced an ambitious plan for a Fallout massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Interplay again touted its MMORPG master plan in December 2006, in case anyone had forgotten.
Yesterday, the publisher again reminded the world of a Fallout MMORPG when it reported its finances for the quarter ending June 30, 2007. The three-month period saw the developer turn a $5.46 million profit, thanks to a near-complete lack of operating expenses and the $5.75 million it received when Bethesda bought the Fallout IP outright this past April. Total quarterly revenues were $5.81 million, up 2,431 percent from the same period in 2006.
Source: gamespot.com
Tags: Baldur's Gate | Bethesda Softworks | Black Isle Studios | Brian Fargo | Caen | California | DESCENT | developer | FALLOUT | Funding | Interplay | licensed | massively multiplayer online role-playing game | MMOG | mmorpg | Titus Interactive
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