Eidos Interactive parent company SCi Entertainment Group announced today that it has rejected a new offer from an undisclosed party, citing the company's "signficant short- to medium-term funding requirements."

The company noted that though the received proposal came at a significant premium to current share prices, it offered "mostly equity consideration but the third party would have assumed responsibility for [SCi's] funding requirements." The offer was also subject to conditions, including significant due diligence.

SCi recently confirmed rumors that an offer had been made, but did not reveal where the offer came from. The struggling UK-based SCi was previously rumored to be in talks with NBC Universal for a $100M investment in the company.

Recent financial hardship recently moved SCi to axe 14 upcoming projects and lay off 25% of its workforce. The group had previously entertained buyout offers from a number of companies including Midway, but cut off talks earlier this year.

Eidos parent company SCi Entertainment Group confirmed reports that it is actively considering an "open offer" for investment in the company.

The struggling UK-based SCi was rumored to be in talks with NBC Universal for a $100M investment in the company, aimed at salving financial troubles which prompted Eidos parent to axe 25% of its workforce and cancel 14 upcoming projects.

SCi failed to name interested parties in its confirmation. Should the reports of NBC Universal's investment hold true, the media conglomerate would become the majority shareholder in SCi.

The group had previously entertained buyout offers from companies such as Midway, but cut talks short earlier this year. In lieu of a corporate bail-out, the company had shifted the release dates four marquee titles—including Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld—into the fourth quarter in the hopes of boosting holiday sales.

A number of IO Interactive co-founders have left the Eidos-owned Hitman, Freedom Fighter and Kane & Lynch developer to form a new studio under the name of Reto-Moto.

No projects have been announced, though the company noted it is "committed to redefining the online multi-player space."

Among the company's staff are Hitman director Jacob Andersen, previous IO VP David Guldbrandsen, former lead character designer Jesper Vorsholt Jorgensen, and old sound engineering lead Martin Pollas. All were co-founders of IO Interactive.

The four are joined by Neil Donnell, who served as an executive producer at Eidos Interactive.

Originally founded in 1997, Reto-Moto's first act was to create IO Interactive in a joint-venture with Nordisk Film. Publisher Eidos acquired IO in 2004.

Publisher Eidos has announced that a reimagining of Midway's classic cooperative arcade title Gauntlet is headed to the Nintendo DS this fall, courtesy of developer Backbone Entertainment.

Supporting online play and voice chat for up to four players, the game features four different character classes: Elf, Warrior, Wizard and Valkyrie. Multiplayer modes include deathmatch, team deathmactch, and treasure hoarde game types.

"With Gauntlet we've revitalised all of the action and fun of the original 1980s arcade classic, whilst updating the visuals and gameplay for today's DS gamer," said Eidos brand manager Ray Livingston. "With four-player Wi-Fi cooperative mode, one of the most memorable multiplayer gaming experiences of all time is back with a bang."

Hanna-Barbera's old animated series Wacky Races is once again being adapted into a video game, publisher Eidos has announced.

Due out on the Wii and Nintendo DS this June, Wacky Races: Crash & Dash has players competing for the title of the World's Wackiest Racer. As is typical for the genre, racers can collect items to perform "Wacky" and "Way Out Wacky" attacks.

The company promises that the game will include "all the characters and cars from the TV series," listing such examples as Peter Perfect's Turbo Terrific, the Ant Hill Mob's Bullet Proof Bomb, Penelope Pitstop, and Dick Dastardly's Mean Machine, complete with sidekick Muttley (pictured above).

Coinciding with the announcement, Eidos issued several screnshots of the Wii edition and the Nintendo DS version.

Eidos Interactive owner SCi Entertainment has announced that it will be canceling 14 projects and terminating 25% of its staff under a new effort to restructure the company.

No details were provided on the canceled titles, though the company noted they were "unlikely to generate an acceptable return on investment or are not of appropriate quality."

Going forward, SCi will focus on what it described as its "cornerstone products," including Tomb Raider, Hitman, Championship Manager and Deus Ex. Of those franchises, new Tomb Raider and Deus Ex titles are known to be in development.

Other properties held by the company include Carmageddon and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

In addition to cutting 25% of its staff, bringing its workforce down to 800 people, SCi will also relocate much of its production staff from London to Montreal. The ... Read more

The 2007 action strategy game Battlestations: Midway will receive a sequel, publisher Eidos announced today. Like its predecessor, Battlestations: Pacific is in development for Xbox 360 and PC.

Battlestations: Pacific contains 21 new units, and a singleplayer campaign with 28 missions covering US and Japanese operations. You'll also be able to use paradrops for offensive or defensive purposes.

"Battlestations: Pacific is even bigger, more authentic and innovative than ever before, taking the Battlestations franchise to the next level and allowing players to relive some of the most memorable battles in modern history" exclaimed Eidos brand manager Trevor Burrows.

He added, "We have been paying great attention to our loyal online community and fan base to ensure that Battlestations: Pacific delivers the most exciting, authentic and fun Battlestations experience yet!"

No release date was announced for Battlestations: Pacific.

Eidos has revealed a first look at the latest installment in Lara Croft's ongoing tomb-raidin' adventures with new screenshots of Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld (PC, PS2, PS3, X360, Wii).

Tomb Raider: Underworld's plot is planned to directly follow the events of Tomb Raider: Legend, released in 2006. Underworld is said to feature a variety of new graphical touches and motion-captured animations.

Eidos parent company SCi announced earlier this month that four of its titles—including Tomb Raider: Underworld—would be shifted to a late 2008 release to boost the company's bottom line during the holiday rush.

Over one million sales of Eidos' shooter Kane and Lynch couldn't save parent company SCi's stock from a free-fall.

Investors angry over the bad tidings have forced SCi to make a change today, with chief executive Jane Cavanagh and others stepping down to make way for new blood. Former Electronic Arts corporate development director Phil Rogers will take Cavanagh's place as chief executive.

The corporate shift follows news of a potential SCi-Midway merger. Talks apparently broke down last week, with SCi putting a stop to offers from potential buyers. However, SCi chairman Tim Ryan was quoted today by Bloomberg.com, saying he would "pursue every opportunity to sell [SCi]."

Since the announcement, SCi's stock price has soared over 45% in trading today.

A game based on the Gregory Widen-created Highlander franchise is in development for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, publisher Eidos has reaffirmed. Developed by Widescreen Games, it is expected to arrive this fall.

Following the adventures of Immortal Owen MacLeod from ancient Pompeii to futuristic New York, the title is being written by Highlander television series writer David Abramowitz and will be powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 3 technology.

Eidos claims the game will take full advantage of MacLeod's status as an Immortal, allowing him to perform feats such as disarming foes by impaling himself with their weapons or conducting electricity through his body. As players master the game's sword-centric combat and behead other Immortals--remember, there can be only one--they will gain new abilities.

"The interactive experience permits players to gain a completely ... Read more

Midway's hopes of acquiring properties like Tomb Raider and Kane & Lynch will have to wait; Eidos parent company SCi has put a stop to discussions concerning a takeover and is no longer entertaining offers from potential buyers, Yahoo reports.

The company cut off talks after a lack of any formal offers from interested parties and a belief that the company would not be sold for its full value.

In lieu of a corporate bail-out, SCi has announced that it expects a financial loss for 2008 and plans to shift the release dates of four titles—including Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld (PC, PS3, X360)—into the fourth quarter in the hopes of boosting sales via the holiday rush.

It came out late last year that Eidos-parent company SCi was open to the possibility of a merger. For the second time in recent years, Midway has now entered talks with SCi as a merger candidate, according to Next-Gen.

The two companies began courting initially in 2003 after CEO David Zucker arrived at Midway. Next-Gen claims a source "within a major game publisher" informed them of the merger talks.

London-based game publisher SCi owns Eidos, known for publishing the Tomb Raider and Hitman series of video games among others. Chicago-headquartered Midway publishes and internally develops titles like BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, PS3, X360) and John Woo's Stranglehold (PC, PS3, X360).

Shacknews contacted both Eidos and Midway for comment, but has not yet received a response.

Eidos-parent company SCi confirmed rumors of buyout discussions earlier this month, though no specific parties were cited as possible suitors. It came out that Ubisoft was the company in question, but The Times now reports that Time Warner and an unnamed Chinese company have approached London-based SCi with acquisition interest as well.

Time Warner owns 10 percent of SCi's shares already and has an agreement with the company to develop games based on Time Warner properties. The Times goes on to suggest that mega-publisher EA may be interested in SCi, though EA already owns the largest stake in the UK publisher, with nearly a quarter of the voting interest.

SCi became an acquisition target this summer after company executives said they misjudged the lowered popularity of PlayStation 2 and the success of Nintendo's Wii console. Titles from from SCi and its subsidiary Eidos include the Tomb Raider franchise, the Conflict series of war games, and the upcoming Io Interactive title Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PS3, X360).

Eidos parent company SCi Entertainment Group has confirmed that it is engaged in "extremely preliminary discussions" that could result in a possible acquisition by an as-yet-unspecified company.

In a statement made to the London Stock Exchange, SCi revealed that it has been approached by an interested party, but that no offer has been made nor is there any guarantee of an offer.

Following SCi's lacking declaration, This is Money reported that the company could go for more than EUR 300 million. According to the site, possible suitors include Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, which recently discussed plans to become a "fully-functional publisher" and invested in a 10.3% stake of SCi.

SCi's properties include such fan-favorite series as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Carmageddon, Hitman, and Kane & Lynch: Dead Man, the latter two of which are currently in the stages of being transformed into feature films.

Publisher Eidos Interactive announced the details today of a three-year agreement with in-game advertising firm Double Fusion. The deal will place ads served by Double Fusion in ten Eidos-published games, with ads "ranging from dynamically-served advertisements" to "deep integrations and product placements."

Attempts to contact Eidos for comment on which games would feature the advertisements have not yet received a response.

Coinciding with the Eidos collaboration announcement, Double Fusion released the results of a study performed by media-analysis firm Interpret. "Double Fusion's ad effectiveness research validates what... Read more

A new game in Ion Storm's acclaimed RPG-infused shooter franchise Deux Ex may soon be in development by an Eidos team. Numerous online outlets have pointed to an interview with Patrick Melchior, managing director of Eidos France, conducted by Canadian music network Musique Plus and re-hosted on Musique Plus' site (note: the site seems to be intermittently failing). In an interview otherwise largely centered around Crystal Dynamics' upcoming Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Melchior praised the Deus Ex franchise and touched on Eidos' plans to add a third entry. Melchior noted that publisher Eidos has not yet ... Read more

Valve's Steam platform continues to expand its game library, as publisher Eidos Interactive has today announced its plans to bring many of its franchises to the digital distribution service. The agreement applies to "dozens" of games, and will include the entire Tomb Raider and Commandos franchises as well as several games from the Hitman series. Commandos and Hitman titles should be available for purchase today along with Mithis Entertainment's recently released Battlestations: Midway and Avalanche Studios' Just Cause. Further Eidos games will be added in the weeks to come.

"Eidos is delighted to add Steam to our extensive digital distribution network. Steam represents an opportunity to distribute our games electronically to millions of gamers around the world," said Eidos New Media business development manager Tom Marx. "It also provides us a direct connection to these extremely active PC influencers who frequent Steam as a source for new content and information. As a result of being a spotlight feature on Steam this year, we expect to see sales of Tomb Raider: Anniversary benefit across all channels."

Eidos is just one of numerous publishers and developers to announce its support for Steam recently. In the last several months, companies such as Activision, Majesco, 2K Games, Funcom, and Unknown Worlds have made games available through Valve's service.

At time of writing, pricing information for the Eidos titles was not yet available on Steam or on steamgames.com.

Update: Eidos' games have been added to Steam. Most games are currently divided into two pricing tiers, $17.95 and $35.95. Games priced at $17.95 include Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty, Commandos 2: Men of Courage, Commandos 3: Destination Berlin, Hitman: Codename 47, and Hitman: Silent Assassin. Games priced at $35.95 include Battlestations: Midway, Just Cause, and Hitman: Blood Money. Finally, Commandos: Strike Force is available for $26.95.

Funcom sent out a press release, announcing that it has signed a publishing deal with SCi/Eidos for the upcoming Age of Conan. Under the agreement, SCi/Eidos will get to publish the boxed version in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, while Funcom retains digital distribution rights.

According to a story on Kikizo Games, both Hitman: Blood Money and Tomb Raider: Legend have been delayed until early 2006. According to Eidos, the decision to delay the games was made to "maximise their hit potential".

Just a few weeks ago it looked like investment group Elevation Partners would buy troubled publisher Eidos, but it seems unlikely that is still going to happen. Instead Eidos is now recommending to its shareholders that they accept a bid by SCi Entertainment.

In the light of the recent movement in the SCi share price, and in the absence of an increased cash offer from Elevation, the Board recognises that whilst there are certain key risks for Eidos shareholders in accepting the SCi Offer (as described more fully below) the current implied value of the SCi Offer of 72.8 pence per Eidos share based on the closing price of SCi shares on 6 April 2005 represents a significant premium to Elevation's Offer.

SCi is the publisher of such games as Carmegddon, Conflict: Vietnam and Richard Burns Rally.