Posts Tagged ‘factor 5’
Factor 5 shutting down studio
Factor 5, developers of the Rogue Squadron series and Liar, has announced that the San Rafael based studio is shutting down. This is due to the bankruptcy and failure of Brash Entertainment, a leading investor in the San Rafael based studio
However, Factor 5’s German studio — and headquarters — located in Cologne, Germany, is unaffected by the closure and will continue normal operations.
Factor 5 Can’t Pay Employees
The aftereffects of Brash Entertainments closure continue with news that Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and Lair developer Factor 5 has been unable to pay its employees for over a month. This comes from a now-removed blog post from animator Sam Baker.
“If we left, there would have been no hope in F5 staying afloat,” read his post. “We had faith in the projects and the company, so there was no reason to bail just yet.”
The financial crisis caused the company to stop work on one of its titles after cutting employee health care. Baker was apparently told by president Julian Eggebrecht that employees should start looking for other jobs if funding wasnt secured within a week.
However, following reports on his post, Baker deleted the entire blog, claiming it was “easy to misinterpret.” Additinally, he clarified that the halted project wasnt the game being made from Brash.
“The other projects currently under way at Factor 5 are doing great,” he said. “We hadn’t received payment because of the situation with Brash, which is why I said I needed to look elsewhere for work.”
Superman Game in Limbo, Publisher Out of Cash
Various sites are reporting that licensed game publisher Brash has run out of cash, leaving many of its projects in limbo, including the unannounced Superman game from Factor 5 (Lair).
The publisher has reportedly laid off 20 employees and is looking to raise funds by pairing with other companies and by returning some of the licenses it holds, or selling them altogether.
There are several games in danger of being cancelled, including Prison Break, 300, Night at the Museum 2, Clash of the Titans and more.
Brash, upon its formation last year, had raised over $400 million in funding, but not all the money was delivered upfront. In fact, most of the undelivered money has “dried up” in the current credit crisis.