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GRIN officially closes

Swedish developer of Bionic Commando, Terminator Salvation says goodbye, former employees form Outbreak Studios.

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The past year was a prodigious one for Swedish developer GRIN. Last August, the developer's downloadable NES remake Bionic Commando Rearmed debuted on the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3. That kicked off a 12-month run that also saw the studio produce Wanted: Weapons of Fate, Terminator Salvation, and 3D action series reboot Bionic Commando.

GRIN produced four major releases in its last year of existence.
GRIN produced four major releases in its last year of existence.

Unfortunately, those titles--mostly met with lukewarm reactions from critics and consumers--will go down as the company's last. Following up on yesterday's reports of mass layoffs at the studio, GRIN's official site carries word of the company's closure.

"It is with a heavy heart we announce today that GRIN has been forced to close its doors," reads the statement, credited to cofounders Bo Andersson and Ulf Andersson. "This as too many publishers have been delaying their payments, causing an unbearable cash flow situation. After 12 years of hard work, employing hundreds of wonderfully talented men and women, it is over."

The statement doesn't specify which publishers' payment procrastination necessitated the closure. In the last year, GRIN has publicly worked with Capcom, Equity Games, Evolved Games, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

GRIN's farewell doesn't make it clear what type of project the studio was working on, although it does reference, "our unreleased masterpiece that we weren't allowed to finish." Earlier this decade, the developer worked on a gladiatorial combat game for the original Xbox called Vultures, but that title was canceled before release. The company also worked on the PC ports of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and its sequel for Ubisoft.

GRIN may be gone, but some of its developers are already hard at work at a new venture. Terminator Salvation lead programmer Peter Bjorklund has brought together nearly two dozen other members of the game's development team and founded Outbreak Studios in Goteborg, Sweden. The studio doesn't have any announced projects yet, but its Web site suggests an emphasis on digital distribution.

"Our mission is to develop titles for Xbox 360 (XBLA), PS3 (PlayStation Store), Games for Windows Live, PSP Go and iPhone. We also deliver online components for AAA titles, both existing or upcoming," the site says.

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