Lair dev Factor 5 shuts US arm

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted May 14, 2009 9:34 am PT

Rogue Squadron studio succumbs to terminal finances after publishing partner Brash Entertainment's bankruptcy.

Reports have been circulating since late last year that Lair developer Factor 5 was in trouble after the abrupt implosion of Brash Entertainment. Today, the extent of the San Rafael, California-based studio's economic troubles was revealed. CEO Achim Moller confirmed on the company's German Web site that Factor 5's US arm has officially closed.

Factor 5's last hurrah.

"We are sorry to announce the closure of the San Rafael-based Factor 5, Inc. studio, but the obstacles created by the sudden bankruptcy of Brash Entertainment for the continuation of operations have turned out too great to overcome in the current economic climate," wrote Moller in succinct statement.

President and cofounder Julian Eggebrecht established the Californian studio of the German developer after the release of Star Wars: Rebel Assault II for the original PlayStation in 1997. The shop was behind the popular Rogue Squadron series for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube consoles, and was considered a second-party Nintendo studio until 2004. In 2005, it began developing exclusively for the PlayStation 3, but it went multiplatform last year as part of its deal with the late Brash.

Despite its San Rafael-based arm's closure, Moller noted that the company's German branch remains in operation and will announce new projects in the coming months.

"Factor 5 GmbH, which has been creating games since 1988 with its headquarters in Cologne, Germany, is entirely unrelated to Factor 5, Inc. and the circumstances surrounding Factor 5 Inc.'s recent challenges," Moller continued. "Although we are saddened by Factor 5 Inc.'s situation, our corporation will remain unaffected by these developments and has partnered with both old and new friends in the industry who will reveal our upcoming projects over the next months."

In December, a former Factor 5 animator detailed the gravity of the company's precarious financial position on his personal blog. The developer said that after returning from an extended leave of absence, he found that employees had not been paid for weeks, thanks to publishing partner Brash Entertainment's bankruptcy. Later that month, reports surfaced that roughly half of the studio's staff had been laid off.

50 Comments

  • Fady117

    Posted May 16, 2009 10:57 am PT

    Stuff happens sometimes, companies close doors and designers lose jobs, but the important thing is that the HQ is still standing.

  • fiskefyren

    Posted May 16, 2009 9:50 am PT

    @ TehUndeadHorror:
    thats what happens when you make ****** games.

  • TehUndeadHorror

    Posted May 16, 2009 7:45 am PT

    So many companies closing...

  • GameBeaten

    Posted May 15, 2009 5:28 pm PT

    Sorry to hear about this.

  • Heathcliff

    Posted May 15, 2009 4:30 pm PT

    Shame... I have such fond memories of the Rogue Squadron series. I still play them every now and then on the Cube.

  • BloodMist

    Posted May 15, 2009 12:25 pm PT

    Lol, excuses excuses.And non biased i might add. *rolls eyes*

  • Zerabp

    Posted May 15, 2009 9:24 am PT

    I love it when people say "Lair" sucked. Boohoo for you you couldn't handle the learning curve that once over it made it an amazing gaming experience that should have scored 8s and 9s. Face it it got poor reviews because the reviewers were lazy and there has been a significant slant against PS3 games that is just barely starting to disappear. Drakes fortune was truly a 10, yet only got 7s and 8s (most saying because its lack of multiplayer and online. Uhuh because all games should be multiplayer and online right?). Heavenly Sword again should have been given a 10, again 7s and 8s (this time because it was too short, again because the length of a game has such a huge effect on gameplay, and somehow the too short story is still better then the majority of story driven games). Lair's only problem was it tried to present something new and innovative to a generation of gamers that wants to be shovel fed crap games like GTA VI (a game which got 9s and 10s despite the constant glitches the stagnant gameplay, and the drab environment. Saints Row 1and 2 may be clones of the older GTA's but it's obvious they got all the good genes). So please stop putting down an excellent studio that put out an excellent game that reviewers were simply too lazy to learn.

  • richioso

    Posted May 15, 2009 3:15 am PT

    Can you people read teh story before posting your hackneyed R.I.P messages.

    factor 5 inc. is seperate from factor 5 GMBH. F5 GMBH are the ones that brought us all the games that we liked and will continue to do so for quite some time in my opinion.

    I do hope that F5 can get the rights to do another RS game (please correct me if they still hold the rights).

    It was unfortunate the way that Lair came out as it had buckets of potential.

  • dennishachey

    Posted May 15, 2009 2:07 am PT

    LAIR was n is a good game a 6/10 for me

  • kavadias1981

    Posted May 15, 2009 1:40 am PT

    It saddens me when any developer goes down.

  • DoctorQ

    Posted May 14, 2009 8:22 pm PT

    Just as I was hoping to possibly see a Rogue Squadron in some form on the Wii. Imagine the use of the control scheme to pilot an X Wing!

    Good bye Factor 5, May the Force be with you.

  • steveroger

    Posted May 14, 2009 6:36 pm PT

    Not only that you have to actually release games you are working on to make money.

  • steveroger

    Posted May 14, 2009 6:34 pm PT

    Sad that the PS3 killed the Factor 5 radio star. Lair sucked. We were so pumped for it. But it just bit. It was a great idea, but none of the features seemed finished. They just bit off more than they could chew. They would have been better off making a remake of one of their SW games for the PS3.

  • Guzthon

    Posted May 14, 2009 6:06 pm PT

    Oh no... This is bad fot everyone. I'm remember of the Turrican series (Sega Genesis, Super NES and the "Amiga" system). So as the Rogue Squadron series ("ah, the good old times never dies").

    "God bless you guys, and thank you for everything".

  • nintendoboy16

    Posted May 14, 2009 5:47 pm PT

    R.I.P. Factor 5

  • Padrepride

    Posted May 14, 2009 4:57 pm PT

    Rogue Squadron was a great series. hate to see factor 5 go...

  • suicidalblues

    Posted May 14, 2009 4:44 pm PT

    Factor5 should always be remembered for the awesome Rogue Sqaudron games and not for Lair.

  • runstalker

    Posted May 14, 2009 3:55 pm PT

    Lair wasn't great, but it was really fun to look at.

    The best stuff Factor 5 has produced always originated from the German teams, so today's news isn't especially bad. The German Factor 5 studio teams are currently proceeding with development as usual. These guys have some great games left in them, and some spectacular engines to come. All this "r.i.p." nonsense is misinformed.

  • yixingtpot

    Posted May 14, 2009 3:43 pm PT

    Lair sucked butt, i owned it... loved the overall LOTR feel to the levels, but the actual gameplay was horrible. Even if you got used to the controls, the levels had ridiculous time limits which kept you from taking your time and having fun destroying every thing in sight.

    If you wanted to do an elaborate take down animation, you'd be lucky to manage one per mission.

    too bad they failed with Lair.

  • PrimusTool

    Posted May 14, 2009 3:25 pm PT

    Lair could have been really good but it felt rushed. I bet most people who are bashing it never even played it.

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