Midway LA Impact!ed by closure
2008-07-22 15:28:05 (337 views)
TNA Wrestling studio's operations to be merged with publisher's San Diego development house; majority of employees offered transfers.
The studio developing Midway's new TNA iMPACT! game is apparently down for the count. The publisher today announced that it is folding its Los Angeles development house into its existing San Diego operations.
Midway said in a statement that the entire TNA team is being offered the option of transferring to the new location. The majority of employees in the Moorpark, California-based studio will be given the chance to join the San Diego team, the publisher said.
The reason given for the merger was to make it easier for the TNA team to work with the San Diego-based third-party production, licensing, and quality assurance teams. The move should also "further leverage synergies with Midway's other development studios in Chicago, Austin, Seattle, and Newcastle, UK," the publisher said.
A Midway representative told GameSpot the move won't impact iMPACT's release date.
"The game is going through final testing now and is still scheduled for September," the representative said. "This studio move will help ensure the long term success of the TNA iMPACT! franchise."
Midway's LA outfit is best known for the successful action adaptation of the Mortal Kombat fighting franchise, Shaolin Monks. Prior to being purchased by Midway, the studio was Paradox Development, and created the Backyard Wrestling series of games.
The San Diego studio produced Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, the Ready 2 Rumble series, and Freaky Flyers before reports of its closure surfaced in late 2005. However, weeks later, Midway revealed the studio was alive and working on Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War.
Brendan Sinclair
http://www.gamespot.com
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