A Made Man revived
Acclaim going belly up last year wasn’t really good for anybody. The impact on the games industry of another big player being disastrously mis-managed left a scar across the sector. Employees lost their jobs, many went without pay, games were canned, shareholders and creditors left high and dry. Something of a mess.
Like a bad episode of Casualty, two of Acclaim’s games have been hauled from the wreckage; ATV3 and Interview with a Made Man. Both were in production at Acclaim’s Manchester Studio and have been acquired and restarted by Fund4Games, a plucky investment bone-picker with an eye for the interactive entertainment industry.
Speaking to SPOnG this morning, CEO of Fund4Games Tim Gatland said, “We would not normally pick up titles without having a publishing partner in place. However, our relationship with the administrators and trustee developed over the past six months, combined with the drive of the former Acclaim employees made this deal unmissable. We have shown IWAMM to publishers and have seen some great feedback.”
The deal for the games is expected to have seen F4G dish out around $650,000 before ongoing development costs, though Gatland is coy about the specifics, stating, “The $250,000 to the US trustee is public domain. Don’t even ask about the legal fees.”
Both games, in development for Xbox and PlayStation, are expected to be used by a publisher to fill the current-generation content void that is widening in the latter stages of the current financial year. Interview with a Made Man, without question the key title for Fund4Games right now, is almost complete, with a team of around 15 staff members from the former Acclaim Studio tidying up the code in time for release and sale to publisher.
Former Team 17 development heavyweight Jon Oldham is expected to take charge of the studio, with an announcement expected some time next week.
Like a bad episode of Casualty, two of Acclaim’s games have been hauled from the wreckage; ATV3 and Interview with a Made Man. Both were in production at Acclaim’s Manchester Studio and have been acquired and restarted by Fund4Games, a plucky investment bone-picker with an eye for the interactive entertainment industry.
Speaking to SPOnG this morning, CEO of Fund4Games Tim Gatland said, “We would not normally pick up titles without having a publishing partner in place. However, our relationship with the administrators and trustee developed over the past six months, combined with the drive of the former Acclaim employees made this deal unmissable. We have shown IWAMM to publishers and have seen some great feedback.”
The deal for the games is expected to have seen F4G dish out around $650,000 before ongoing development costs, though Gatland is coy about the specifics, stating, “The $250,000 to the US trustee is public domain. Don’t even ask about the legal fees.”
Both games, in development for Xbox and PlayStation, are expected to be used by a publisher to fill the current-generation content void that is widening in the latter stages of the current financial year. Interview with a Made Man, without question the key title for Fund4Games right now, is almost complete, with a team of around 15 staff members from the former Acclaim Studio tidying up the code in time for release and sale to publisher.
Former Team 17 development heavyweight Jon Oldham is expected to take charge of the studio, with an announcement expected some time next week.
Games:
Made Man
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