If you grew up in the early 1990s, then you undoubtedly remember the original “Mortal Kombat.” Viewed by many as a crown jewel of the fighting genre, Midway’s violence-laden brawler first captivated gamers in arcades, but made its way to the Genesis and the Super Nintendo soon after.
Since the release of the first game, Midway has developed many sequels, including last fall’s “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.” Through the years, the franchise has remained popular, even though Midway included kart racing and chess games in some of the later iterations. According to the publisher, it had shipped 1.8 million copies of the recent T-rated installment as of January.
Unfortunately, the game’s success wasn’t enough to save the company from bankruptcy. Now it appears that Midway is considering the unthinkable.
According to a report from netDockets, the financially-troubled publisher might be shopping its popular brawling franchise as it attempts to claw its way out of financial purgatory. Apparently, if the IP were to change owners, the company would complete one of three “milestones,” which would determine bonus payments for 29 Midway employees.
“If all milestones are met, the total bonus pool available for distribution would be $3,755,000,” netDockets reported. “For each milestone payment, each employee eligible to participate in the plan would receive a set percentage of the bonus amount designated for that milestone.”
The netDockets blog post also mentioned Midway’s “strategic relationship” with Ubisoft, which will see the latter distributing “Wheelman” in a number of countries, including the United States, Australia, France and the United Kingdom. Though, Midway will continue to own the IP. The game is slated to launch in late March for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Midway filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February after the company was unable to settle its debts. I bet lottery tickets were a popular gift at the Midway Christmas party.
Sumner Redstone sold his majority stake in the company late last year, which allowed Midway’s creditors to demand repayment. Though, some groups have questioned the legality of Mark Thomas’ purchase.
“Mortal Kombat” co-creator Ed Boon recently revealed that the next installment in the franchise was currently in development. Of course, this news seemingly puts that title’s release in jeopardy. If the IP is sold, will the buyer continue the work that Midway’s Chicago studio began, or will it develop its own “Mortal Kombat” game from scratch? Granted, Boon never revealed how long the sequel had been in development.
Midway has owned the IP since its birth, which shows just how desperate the company has become. Though, it would be nice to see another studio revitalize the aging “Mortal Kombat” franchise. I just pray that the IP doesn’t end up in Activision Blizzard’s portfolio. Otherwise, we will see five new “Mortal Kombat” games next year, with each one featuring a single new character and two new background colors for the main menu. The story, arenas, modes, animations, soundtrack and options would remain constant in all five titles.
Update: The netDockets piece did not mention Ubisoft by name, but merely said the first milestone, “entry into a publishing/distribution agreement for Midway’s new ‘Wheelman’ game,” had been completed.
Also, Edge has spoken with Geoff Mogilner, Midway’s head of investor relations, who told the site that Midway executives simply want “to keep the company together” and that the publisher could retain the rights to its IPs.
“We’re not going out of our way to sell Mortal Kombat,” he said.
Thus, it isn’t guaranteed that the rights to the franchise will be sold. Though, it does appear that the company is considering the option.
Mogilner also denied the assertion that the company’s plan would reward certain employees with lavish bonuses.
“It’s designed to incentive-ize these employees whose workloads have greatly increased because of this bankruptcy,” he told Edge. “These guys are working their butts off, working nights, weekends, because of all the paperwork that goes into bankruptcy.”
GamePolitics has posted a court document submitted on behalf of Midway owner, Mark Thomas, which claims that the Chicago-based publisher and developer is “hemorrhaging cash.” It also denies claims that Thomas and Redstone acted outside of the law.
Sources: Gamasutra, netDockets via IGN, Midway, Gamasutra, GamePolitics, GamePolitics
Update sources: Edge, GamePolitics