More On ION Problems

While both ION Storm and Eidos claim that the employment status of Todd Porter and Jerry O'Flaherty remains unchanged, GameSpot News sources say otherwise.

The current rumor is that the duo is indeed out of the ION offices permanently. What is more interesting is the method in which the two are being fired. One rumor we received from a trusted source says that Eidos and ION Storm shut down ION Storm completely and fired everybody. In turn, Eidos will rehire ION employees but not hire Porter and O'Flaherty back. The new development house would take on a new name and become a division of Eidos. There hasn't been any indication whether that new division will take on a new name.

"No one at Ion Storm is getting fired," asserted Mike Breslin, ION Storm's vice president of marketing and business development, when asked again about the recent allegations. "Why would anyone fire an entire company just to hire everyone back except for two employees?"

Several reliable and unrelated source are claiming that the duo has left the building never to return, but details concerning the departure still remain somewhat sketchy.

We contacted former ION Storm CEO and founder of the Gathering of Developers, Mike Wilson, to ask him how he felt about the alleged happenings at his former company. He had posted a cryptic update to his plan file on Monday, which said, "A cure for a particularly nasty cancer will be discovered in downtown Dallas today." The following-up, posted the next day, read, "And so it was. The children of the tower were finally freed from the evil oppressors. Rejoice gamers, rejoice. Further proof that karma is not to be underestimated." The two statements were assumed to be reactions to the rumors circling the gaming community about Porter and O'Flaherty's departure. Wilson said, "I hear the same rumors as everyone else, just a little sooner. I have reasons to believe the rumors to be true. But, hey, I don't work there. Having said that, I'll take any bets."

In the meantime, we are tracking down these apparent rumors to debunk any false reports and confirm any truths. Stay tuned for more.