Black Isle Studios cryptically reappeared earlier today with no more than a brief mission statement on it relaunched web site stating that it wanted "to make the world's best RPGs." According to a brief release and statement from Interplay CEO Herve Caen, Black Isle is looking to put together a team to work on titles based on Interplay RPG IPs.
Black Isle Studios--at least in name--is back. The company, which closed in 2003 when publisher Interplay laid off the entire staff, quietly reopened its website with a brief statement: "Our goal has always been to make the world's best RPGs." The company certainly did that in its short history, creating such masterpieces as the original Fallout, Planescape: Torment, and Icewind Dale.
However, most of the original Black Isle team have moved onto other projects, and many key members of the team have been caught off-guard by today's announcement.
A settlement has been reached in the case between ZeniMax Media subsidiary Bethesda Softworks and Interplay Entertainment surrounding the fate of an MMO set in the Fallout universe.
Interplay had retained the right to make a Fallout MMO when it licensed, then later sold, the Fallout IP to Bethesda in 2007. The original agreement stipulated that Interplay must enter "full-scale" development with a minimum of $30 million in funding by April 4, 2009, in order to retain rights to the title. Bethesda had claimed that the conditions were not met and so Interplay's license was automatically cancelled, which Interplay naturally contested.
Under the terms of the settlement, all rights granted to Interplay in order to develop a Fallout MMO have reverted back to Bethesda, effective immediately.
The battle between Bethesda and Interplay continues. After the Fallout 3 developer was initially denied a preliminary injunction against Interplay, Bethesda appealed the decision to the Fourth Circuit court of appeals. Yesterday, documents released by the court [PDF] reveal that the appeal was also denied.
According to the Unites States Court of Appeals documents, Bethesda was unsuccessful in its quest to prove the "district court abused its discretion and misapplied the law in concluding that Bethesda failed to establish a likelihood of irreparable harm." Essentially, the developer/publisher was unable to show the court that Interplay's continued work on a Fallout MMO would damage its business.
The legal battle between former Fallout property owner Interplay and current caretaker Bethesda is continuing its descent into arguing silly points. The latest development revolves around Bethesda's claim that it only licensed the "Fallout" name itself to Interplay for its Fallout MMO.
Bethesda made this unusual claim in December 2010, saying Interplay had no right to use any of Fallout's setting, characters, or story in Fallout Online, only the name. In a new filing this month, dug up by Gamasutra, Interplay insists Bethesda well aware that Fallout Online was based upon the post-apocalyptic RPG and never objected before. Read more »
While Interplay now is but a twisted husk of the prominent publisher it was, it still has an impressive catalogue of revered games to its name. Good Old Games, the virtuous virtual vendor of vintage video games, is offering a splendid opportunity to explore these on the cheap, with a 50% discount on all Interplay titles in a 'Staycation' promotion.
As Interplay continues to capitalize upon its backlog of classics, the publisher has announced that BioWare's humorous and humiliatingly difficult action game MDK2 is to be released as a WiiWare download, while PC gets a freshly minted MDK2 HD revamp.
Both MDK2 WiiWare and MDK2 HD are being handled by Beamdog, a studio founded by BioWare veteran Trent Oster and staffed by "some of the original [MDK2] team." Read more »
With Descent PC having just celebrated its fifteen year anniversary, publisher Interplay has announced that the six-degree spaceship shooter series is coming to Wii.
The original Descent (PC), circa 1995.
Fallout 3 developer and Fallout property owner Bethesda has filed a lawsuit against former owner Interplay to clarify that Interplay no longer holds any rights to the franchise.
Bethesda, which purchased the post-apocalyptic property from Interplay for $5.75 million, says Interplay never sought the necessary approval to re-release the original Fallout games at retail or via digital distribution, and no longer holds the Fallout MMO license. Read more »
Vendor of vintage video games GOG is celebrating its one-year anniversary with the spectacular offer of buy one, get one free on its catalogue of Interplay games.
Games up for download at $5.99 include such PC classics as Fallout, Fallout 2, MDK, Descent 1 & 2, Freespace 2, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, and Earthworm Jim 1 & 2.
A number of older Interplay titles were added to the Steam store today, including the Black Isle classics Fallout and Fallout 2.
In addition to the Fallout collection--which packs in Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics for $20--Xatrix's shooter Kingpin and Shiny's RTS Sacrifice are also available, though the games are generally cheaper on GOG. Read more »
Interplay's annual performance report reveals that Bethesda plans to cancel the agreement allowing Interplay to make its Fallout MMO, No Mutants Allowed noticed.
When Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks purchased the Fallout property from Interplay in April 2007, Interplay retained the right to make a Fallout MMO--on condition it raise at least $30 million in funding and enter scale development within 2 years. Read more »
Bulgarian developer Masthead Studios will be joining Interplay to work on the publisher's mysterious MMO codenamed Project V13, frequently rumoured to be a Fallout MMO.
The agreement will see Masthead co-developing Project V13 with Interplay's internal teams under Interplay's direction and control, and implementing tools and technology that Masthead created for Earthrise--a post-apocalyptic MMO due out later this year. Read more »
Interplay has relaunched its company website which notes, among other things, that the company's Fallout MMO is still in development.
Codenamed "Project V13", Interplay has opened an Orange County, CA office for development of the game. It has also hired Chris Taylor, who was part of the original Fallout team, to be the lead system designer for the new game. Taylor joins several other former Fallout development team members who had been hired by Interplay previously. Read more »
GameTap today announced an expanded partnership with Interplay to make several of the company's titles such as Fallout, MDK and Descent available via numerous digital distribution channels.
As part of the agreement, GameTap will feature the Interplay titles in its subscription-based play service, ad-supported website and sold directly via GameTap's online digital download store.
"This licensing deal is a good example of how Interplay is leveraging its library of intellectual properties," said Interplay CEO Herve Caen. "The company will continue to either reinvent some of those properties by developing them into new versions or sequels, or by partnering with an existing leader like GameTap, where the original titles can live on." Read more »
"At least Bethesda isn't afraid to give a full size world and let players have freedom to play ..."
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