Midway secures second debt extension

Midway remains financially dazed, but nobody is yet calling for creditors to "finish him!" Faced with a seemingly insurmountable debt load of $240 million, the Mortal Kombat publisher revealed in December that it had until mid-January to pay off $150 million of the outstanding credit. Last week, Midway said that it had received a reprieve of sorts, reaching an agreement with a portion of its creditors to delay payment on half of the debt until February 19.

Now, Midway has gained a measure more of breathing room. Last night, the publisher announced it had reached a new agreement with its creditors, saying that the entire $150 million sum is now due by February 12.

The publisher's grim financial situation was spurred by National Amusement CEO Sumner Redstone's fire sale of his controlling stake in the game maker in November. The 85-year-old media mogul, whose company faces mounting debt of its own, sold his 92.1 million shares for a mere $100,000 to private financier Mark Thomas. The transaction came out to roughly $0.0012 a share, far below the $0.33-per-share price the publisher had been trading at before the sale.

In announcing the first half of its credit extension last week, a senior Midway representative confirmed for GameSpot that the financial upheaval was not expected to affect the ship date of The Wheelman, which is expected to arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on February 16.