Reports: Taldren closing down

Yesterday reports began to surface that Taldren, developer of the Star Trek: Starfleet Command series of sci-fi strategy games, has shuttered its doors. The origin of the reports are numerous posts on the Taldren forums, in which administrators and members discuss how the company's American development operations are being shut down.

Also according to the posts, Taldren CEO Erik Bethke is relocating some members of his development team to Korea to develop "a myth-themed MMORPG." This was backed up by several posts by Bethke himself, in which he discusses learning Korean and moving the forums to a server in the Asian nation.

Early this afternoon, the Taldren forums themselves shut down. A message on the site read, "Forums are temporarily closed for network maintenance," and it gave no indication of when they would resume functioning. Also, e-mails to Bethke's taldren.com account bounced back. Other attempts to contact Taldren's Costa Mesa, California, offices were unsuccessful.

If true, Taldren's shuttering would also spell the end for Black9, its long-delayed PC and Xbox shooter. The game was officially put "on hold" this past April, reportedly because its publisher, Majesco, was not pleased with how it was progressing. Majesco representatives could not be reached for comment on the fate of Black9 or Taldren as of press time.