Interplay planning Fallout MMO game

While Fallout fans are looking toward Bethesda Softworks' upcoming Fallout 3 as the future of the franchise, original publisher Interplay has resurfaced from a lengthy hibernation with plans for a massively multiplayer online game based on the property.

Late last month, Interplay made a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and noted that it would be spending the first half of December meeting with European investors and giving them a slide-show presentation of its current activities. In the slide show, which Interplay labeled "confidential," is a plan for a Fallout MMO game to start production as early as next month.

To get the game through its proposed July 2010 launch, Interplay is projecting that it will need a total of $75 million. Few details were given, but the publisher did note that it would be a subscription-based game and that it was expected to provide a return on investment within three years. Interplay projects that the game would be profitable in its second year with revenues of $160 million, assuming it could garner 1 million subscribers in its first year.