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Bankruptcy strikes Hip Interactive

Bad times hit Canadian game publisher as solution for economic woes eludes them.

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After failing to strike a last-minute deal to bolster its shaky finances, Hip Interactive said it has ceased operations and would close its doors completely in short order. The company said this morning that "discussions with a third party to provide interim relief in respect of the Company's immediate financing needs were not successful."

Hip Interactive officials said the company no longer had the means to pay its debts.

Last week, investors were alerted that the company was in default on its secured loan. While it attempted to find alternate means to placate lenders, absent the means to make certain payments on loans outstanding, its primary source of funding, Congress Financial Corp., asked the Canadian court to declare the publisher bankrupt.

Hip Interactive's board of directors has resigned, and an Ontario court has appointed Ernst & Young Inc. as interim receiver under the Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

The company and its subsidiaries will continue to operate during the proceedings, albeit under the oversight of the interim receiver, or bankruptcy administrator.

The publisher had a number of high-profile games on its upcoming slate including Call of Cthulhu: Destiny's End, George Romero's City of the Dead, and Jackie Chan Adventures. There has been no word on which publishers are in line to pick up those and other games due from Hip.

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