Interplay back in black, still seeking Fallout MMOG funding

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Aug 15, 2007 5:57 pm PT

Once-mighty publisher posts profit following July Fallout IP sale, says postnuclear massively multiplayer RPG remains "key" to future.

As publisher of the Baldur's Gate and Descent series, Interplay Entertainment was a force to be reckoned with the 1990s. However, ever since it was taken over in 2001 by French publisher Titus Interactive, its fortunes have fallen. Founder Brian Fargo departed the next year, followed in 2003 by many of the talented developers forced out by the closure of Black Isle Studios. In 2004, the company was forced out of its headquarters for nonpayment of rent, laid off almost its entire staff, was threatened by the California state authorities, and all but disappeared from public view.

In mid-2004, though, Interplay made headlines when it licensed its popular IP Fallout to acclaimed role-playing game developer-publishers Bethesda Softworks. The deal covered only console and PC Fallout titles, though. On the agreement's eve in 2004, Interplay CEO Herve Caen announced an ambitious plan for a Fallout massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Interplay again touted its MMORPG master plan in December 2006, in case anyone had forgotten.

Yesterday, the publisher again reminded the world of a Fallout MMORPG when it reported its finances for the quarter ending June 30, 2007. The three-month period saw the developer turn a $5.46 million profit, thanks to a near-complete lack of operating expenses and the $5.75 million it received when Bethesda bought the Fallout IP outright this past April. Total quarterly revenues were $5.81 million, up 2,431 percent from the same period in 2006.

"I am pleased with the progress the company has made, particularly with our debt load, which has improved from $59 million in December 2001 to less than $3 million today," Caen said in a statement. "With that difficult period behind us, we are focused on securing funding for development of a massively multiplayer online game based on the popular Fallout franchise. ... Fallout Online will play a key role in the future of Interplay."

Interplay did not expand on the plans it laid out for Fallout Online last year. That called for the raising of some $75 million to fund development of the project, which remains tentatively set for a July 2010 launch. Bethesda will release the totally redesigned, critically acclaimed, yet still controversial Fallout for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 late next year.

87 Comments

  • Nodashi

    Posted Oct 22, 2007 9:09 pm PT

    Geez, I'd love a GOOD Fallor MMORPG more than any game I can think of now. Too bad it's burried with those bankrupted companies RN

  • darkscorcher

    Posted Sep 26, 2007 1:10 am PT

    YES, i cant wait for interplay to come back and release another descent game, i have been waiting to find out what happened to the shivans for 8 years now : )

  • Williedude87

    Posted Sep 4, 2007 11:57 pm PT

    There website has a link to play chess online for free.. and information about financing and investing in the company, and a old logo. That's about it. I'm pretty sure this guy is just dreaming. I mean, I hope I'm wrong, but reality dictates otherwise.

  • fastpunk

    Posted Sep 3, 2007 7:40 am PT

    @Zaptoman: I agree, it was very dumb but they probably needed the money. Still, I wish they'd kept it and licensed it to Obsidian for a true Fallout sequal, not Bethsoft's flashy nuclear freak show.

  • zaptoman

    Posted Aug 31, 2007 12:36 pm PT

    Should have never sold the IP. That was dumb. What happens if Interplay gets back on its feet? One of its most popular IPs is gone forever.

  • LycanBlacksoul

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 12:25 pm PT

    *sigh* So much Fallout, so little time... If they do it, do it right.

  • EXODYS

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 2:17 pm PT

    Sure hope Interplay will be able to get some more capital soon, would love a Fallout Online :-D

  • Avenger1324

    Posted Aug 20, 2007 7:31 am PT

    Interplay was great, but is now dead in all but name. None of the original talent that made the games great is still there, and in the 3 years since announcing an intention to make a Fallout MMO, they have done nothing.

    If they had actually started making it in mid-2004 when it was announced we would probably have seen it launched by now.

    I would love to see a Fallout MMO, but for now this is little more than vapourware

  • MadDog1250

    Posted Aug 20, 2007 12:25 am PT

    Its a shame that interplay have fallen so far they were such behemoths when i were a gaming kiddeh , and nearly every game they produced was actually good.

    Compared to the cash cow nature of gaming companies nowadays that still manage to survive after churning out trash sequel and dumb idea one after another *cough-ea-cough*

    Not their fault tho, tbh theres a large market of gamers out there that are thick enough to buy all these 'games' and keep the companies afloat. times have changed

  • usa11bravo

    Posted Aug 19, 2007 2:29 pm PT

    One word. Vaporware.

  • FearlessVampire

    Posted Aug 18, 2007 12:09 am PT

    A hard sell, and probably quite a while before we see it... but this would rock...

  • Megavideogamer

    Posted Aug 17, 2007 7:46 am PT

    Duke Nukem Forever will make it to Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 before we see this next installment in the Fallout series.

  • greater_bird

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 10:13 pm PT

    Can anyone honestly see this MMORPG coming about? It's been on the table for years now, with no actual work being done on it, and it doesn't sound like Interplay have the resources to make it.

    Mind you, if they did, the marketing for Bethseda's Fallout would give the online one a free boost in name recognition. There's got to be a lot of gamers around who would never have played (possibly never heard of) the originals.

  • skyman_1981

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 8:28 pm PT

    Microsoft Games Studios needs to buy Interplay.

  • goldeneye_basic

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 8:16 pm PT

    raze182 and maa4208:
    I agree, Descent rocks. Playing a demo of the first one that came on some floppy's is what got me into PC gaming. Since I don't think Interplay can make a fourth one with the lack of programmers, it should sell the rights to someone that can make another one. Raze182, you can actually play old DOS games with a program called DosBox or other pc emulators. I've used DosBox to play Privateer in Windows XP. That game used to be a pain because you had to mess with memmaker to free up conventional memory. PC gaming is a lot easier now

    Update: According to http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=74527218
    Interplay let the trademark cancel, so maybe anybody could develop a new Descent game without paying licensing fees.

  • drakron

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 2:36 pm PT

    Herve Caen is still trying to find someone stupid enough to fund Interplay, this is really old news.

    There might be a sucker born every minute but they lack 70 millions.

    And no, Herve is not "climbing out of the gutter", Interplay does not exist outside holding the rights, all influx of money have been from Interplay catalog re-release deals and Bethsoft buying the Fallout IP ... they cannot develop or publish any games since that infrastructure collapsed along with Interplay (that is why he needs 70 millions).

  • haesuse

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 12:59 pm PT

    well i gotta say i am glad to hear they are climbing out of the gutter and doing it pretty fast. as for the MMO that is probably their only way to really get back on the feet and be a full on dev and ppublisher. Fallout is a very popular and loved series and an MMO, if done well and right, would be easily a success and a cash cow for Interplay to get back in the game.

  • michirican123

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 12:58 pm PT

    I wonder which fallout will be better. The bethesda sequel or the Interplay MMORPG... let the games begin

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 12:38 pm PT

    they been through tough times

    Can't wait for the MMO!

  • mrbojangles25

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 10:41 am PT

    We shall see how MMOs with adult content fair when Age of Conan gets released. I think theyre gonna do well, and either way a Fallout MMO would be awesome.

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