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Starbreeze is probably about to go bankrupt
- Thread starter Robiin
- Start date
No. They fucked GRIN
https://www.mcvuk.com/development/square-enix-broke-payment-deal-with-grin
Fucking fax lol
Sorry, you're right, I meant publishing rights. Same with System Shock 3, someone else will publish.
Not saying they are doing great, but this thread title and OP is some real bonkers pseudo financial analysis being passed off as a near sure thing. If you search "starbreeze bankrupt", this is literally the second item on that search, lol. There are seemingly strong companies with good stock prices that go bankrupt every day and suprisingly mediocre performers that slink along for years.
Yeah. There are a couple studios still using it. Autodesk has pulled it as a product though, so you can't actively license it anymore.
Welp.
https://www.starbreeze.com/2018/11/starbreeze-is-reviewing-costs-and-focusing-on-core-business/
Not quite bankruptcy but reads like downsizing is imminent.
https://www.starbreeze.com/2018/11/starbreeze-is-reviewing-costs-and-focusing-on-core-business/
Not quite bankruptcy but reads like downsizing is imminent.
I hope they can land on their feet but that Walking Dead game looks like shit.
That might have been true before Underworld Ascendent released to abyssmal reviews and fan reaction but is probably a much harder sell now. Someone may buy the IP, but will it be Spector's new studio developing it? Will it be the same game?
Edit: OP ended up being right, surprisingly. But they are quite a ways away from shutting down just because they are cleaning house. it's not a Telltale situation.
At least Payday 2 got wrapped up, would've been a shame if the company folded and those fans were left on the hook or something.
That Walking Dead game looks so rough...
That Walking Dead game looks so rough...
Updated after today's closing: 2.23*53551881 + 2.12*271743673 = 695517281SEK ~= $75.6M
From $105M on Friday.
Down 25% today. The investors must have seen the era thread!
Or played Overkill's the walking dead
"Only months after introducing a $3,200 virtual reality headset with an ultra-wide field of view, location-based HMD maker StarVR is facing the threat of imminent closure or sale, Digitimes reports. Majority-owned by Acer with a one-third stake from Starbreeze, StarVR was delisted from Taiwan's stock exchange after only six months of trading, and is now expected to be disbanded within three months unless it gets profitable or purchased."
https://venturebeat.com/2018/11/29/...starvr-after-location-based-vr-revenues-sink/
Starbreeze CEO shown the door.
Company going into reconstruction
As a consequence, stock placed on observation list:
Company going into reconstruction
As a consequence, stock placed on observation list:
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I don't really know anything about them but some posts here are saying they own The Darkness so MS should buy that IP
they will always be the darkness/riddick people to me. and everything they made since those games just fell flat. even the riddick sequel felt sub-par compared to the main game and felt incredibly dated by the time it released. payday 2 was a joke on consoles and the less said about the walking dead the better. i can't say i'd be sad to see them go if they do indeed fold, but hopefully the staff land on their feet.
they made the first game, but i don't think they own the rights. the sequel wasn't even made by them.
they made the first game, but i don't think they own the rights. the sequel wasn't even made by them.
2K were the publishers for 1 and 2. I'm pretty sure they own it.
Rare released some of their most successful games under Microsoft, with Sea of Thieves just another addition to their output of reaching many, many gamers. Whether or not you like their output is a different question and very subjective, but Rare today is bigger and more healthy than they ever were in terms of raw manpower and the success of both their Kinect games as well as Sea of Thieves is nothing but a story of success.
they've taken too long making it tbh, especially considering what it is. and because its taken so long they ended up releasing at a terrible time in the year (right near red dead redemption 2) it's going to release in february on consoles surrounded by a bunch of high profile games, least of which being resident evil 2, a higher profile, much more hyped zombie game...and then on top of that, the walking dead's viewing figures are the lowest they've been in years.
needed to come out 2 years ago in the summer or something.
The Darkness is a comic book series by Top Cow/Image. Same universe as Witchblade. MS isn't gonna buy something like that
Ahh ok if it's only on PC that makes more sense why it hasn't had more buzz. Like you said though, Q1 is crazy so I don't see it setting the world on fire.
Exactly. Neither 2k and especially not Starbreeze "own" that IP.
For everyone who doesn't get how severe the situation currently is for the company, this is from Starbreeze's Q3 shareholder presentation:
Source
They burned through SEK 120M in Q3 2018 and only had SEK 147.5M "on the bank" at the end of the period. With no major release scheduled, they will burn through all of their cash within a couple of quarters, even if they only spend on operating costs, which are currently at SEK 57.2M. That's why they're taking such drastic measures such as firing people, cancelling projects, etc. Divide those numbers by ~10 to get USD equivalents. That's the impact of the failure of Overkill's The Walking Dead. If that game sold the projected number of copies (regardless of the exact number), it would've been a huge boost for their financials.
I don't think the console versions will save OTWD (nor the company), and the other games won't be finished in time, so mass layoffs are the only option for the company. Management can be happy if the company is still active by the end of 2019.
Personally, I think there is not a single company who wants to acquire Starbreeze. The company itself is worthless. Competitors may want some of the IP, such as Payday, but the best-case scenario for them is to wait for the bankrupcy auction.
Source
They burned through SEK 120M in Q3 2018 and only had SEK 147.5M "on the bank" at the end of the period. With no major release scheduled, they will burn through all of their cash within a couple of quarters, even if they only spend on operating costs, which are currently at SEK 57.2M. That's why they're taking such drastic measures such as firing people, cancelling projects, etc. Divide those numbers by ~10 to get USD equivalents. That's the impact of the failure of Overkill's The Walking Dead. If that game sold the projected number of copies (regardless of the exact number), it would've been a huge boost for their financials.
I don't think the console versions will save OTWD (nor the company), and the other games won't be finished in time, so mass layoffs are the only option for the company. Management can be happy if the company is still active by the end of 2019.
Personally, I think there is not a single company who wants to acquire Starbreeze. The company itself is worthless. Competitors may want some of the IP, such as Payday, but the best-case scenario for them is to wait for the bankrupcy auction.
This situation seems to keep getting worse rather quickly from the original news, I wonder how long it'll take to get to the point where a bankruptcy auction happens.
Yea that is looking grim and like you said the studio is worthless with only a handful of worthwhile IPs. Still I'm curious to see which publisher picks up Payday from the rotting corps that will be this company in 2019.For everyone who doesn't get how severe the situation currently is for the company, this is from Starbreeze's Q3 shareholder presentation:
Source
They burned through SEK 120M in Q3 2018 and only had SEK 147.5M "on the bank" at the end of the period. With no major release scheduled, they will burn through all of their cash within a couple of quarters, even if they only spend on operating costs, which are currently at SEK 57.2M. That's why they're taking such drastic measures such as firing people, cancelling projects, etc. Divide those numbers by ~10 to get USD equivalents. That's the impact of the failure of Overkill's The Walking Dead. If that game sold the projected number of copies (regardless of the exact number), it would've been a huge boost for their financials.
I don't think the console versions will save OTWD (nor the company), and the other games won't be finished in time, so mass layoffs are the only option for the company. Management can be happy if the company is still active by the end of 2019.
Personally, I think there is not a single company who wants to acquire Starbreeze. The company itself is worthless. Competitors may want some of the IP, such as Payday, but the best-case scenario for them is to wait for the bankrupcy auction.
I know brand recognition is important, but Payday is such a generic premise that you could slap any robber themed name on a new ip and it would work.
Just call it "Every Last Dollar", mold 4 characters out of heist movie tropes, and homage half a dozen maps from heist movies.
One and done, No need to buy an ip.
Just call it "Every Last Dollar", mold 4 characters out of heist movie tropes, and homage half a dozen maps from heist movies.
One and done, No need to buy an ip.
I'm not sure what your sources are but so far no one has been fired, the core development teams are 100% intact. No inhouse game project is cancelled.For everyone who doesn't get how severe the situation currently is for the company, this is from Starbreeze's Q3 shareholder presentation:
Source
They burned through SEK 120M in Q3 2018 and only had SEK 147.5M "on the bank" at the end of the period. With no major release scheduled, they will burn through all of their cash within a couple of quarters, even if they only spend on operating costs, which are currently at SEK 57.2M. That's why they're taking such drastic measures such as firing people, cancelling projects, etc. Divide those numbers by ~10 to get USD equivalents. That's the impact of the failure of Overkill's The Walking Dead. If that game sold the projected number of copies (regardless of the exact number), it would've been a huge boost for their financials.
I don't think the console versions will save OTWD (nor the company), and the other games won't be finished in time, so mass layoffs are the only option for the company. Management can be happy if the company is still active by the end of 2019.
Personally, I think there is not a single company who wants to acquire Starbreeze. The company itself is worthless. Competitors may want some of the IP, such as Payday, but the best-case scenario for them is to wait for the bankrupcy auction.
That's indeed incorrect by me. Those are my personal expectations of what will happen in their 'reconstruction' process.
You might be right, I hope not though. I'm leaning in that direction too, but it'd be nice if it turned out differently.
For anyone wanting a bit of an inside-look at the process, a Letter to Creditors has been published.
PDFs available here.
PDFs available here.
