Midway studios not acquired by WB to shut down within 60 days

by Ben Gilbert { Jul 2nd 2009 at 11:25AM }

It appears as though recent reports were incorrect, as Midway confirmed to Joystiq this morning that the studios not picked up by Warner Bros. in the acquisition bid have 60 days until they're out of work. From Midway Newcastle (Wheelman, Necessary Force) to Midway San Diego (TNA) and various "old sports titles" (Blitz, NBA Ballers) in between, anyone looking to pick up the remaining studios has roughly two months to do so.

"We had a court hearing yesterday and the end result of that is the sale was approved and the closing will occur within the next 10 days," a Midway representative told us, continuing, "Since we didn't get any bids for the San Diego assets, we actually gave the employees a required 60-day warning." According to the US Department of Labor, employees of 100 or more person companies must be warned 60 days prior to being let go due to "plant closure" (or studio closure, in this case).

Midway remains positive on the San Diego studio, saying, "For now those employees are continuing to work and it's still entirely possible that a bidder could come in and acquire the San Diego assets." When asked what would happen to the TNA license if the studio did go under, Midway was unsure. Maybe THQ and its fancy new business plan can help a brotha out?

Tags: blitz, midway, midway-newcastle, midway-san-diego, nba-ballers, thq, tna, us-department-of-labor, warner-bros, wheelman

Related From Joystiq

Silver lining: THQ acquires 40 percent of Midway San Diego employees, maybe more
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Midway execs get the boot, entire Chicago dev team acquired by WB
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Midway Newcastle drains the moat, shuts down
116 days ago

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Wiizer (Michael Pachter MUST DIE.. Professionally) @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:31AM

Yikes... I really hope someone picks them up. I mean, who wants to see anyone lose their job?

Especially a job making video games.

Wiizer (Michael Pachter MUST DIE.. Professionally) @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:31AM

Oh wait, I want to see Pachter lose his job!... But that's an entirely different situation.

WINterfang @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:50AM

Pachter has a job? do you mean they pay him to make predictions?

The Dark Wang(Ohyeahcola in disguise) @ Jul 2nd 2009 12:49PM

yup

Dirty @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:31AM

Does this mean that NBA JAM is not coming to XBLA and PSN. They really should have tried to capitalize on their classic arcade games. Shame with all the licensing issues. Avatar Jam?

Petebot330 @ Jul 2nd 2009 12:13PM

That would be awesome

offday @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:32AM

Now all I do is look at the pictures and think of good places for her to hide. D:

DeoWulf @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:48AM

Yeah, I miss the AHHHHHHHHH girl already.

offday @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:38AM

Ok guys. I have a solution to mend our broken hearts.

Say hello to....EarnMyDegree.com girl!

http://tinypic.com/r/2aj72ar/5

......Damnit, It's just not the same. :(

WINterfang @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:39AM

I'm a little Excited about Mortal Kombat 9.

Storm Eagle (P:FoXGameR, X:PullingADrifter) @ Jul 2nd 2009 11:41AM

But...what happened to the life raft?

It....it was...just over there....I SAW IT!

Come back...come back....

Zoot Suit Jedi @ Jul 2nd 2009 12:10PM

Look at the list of games referenced in the article...what a bunch of crap. I didn't realize until just now, but no wonder that ship sank.

Blank-Mage @ Jul 2nd 2009 12:30PM

Hang on, what company picked up the Mortal Kombat IP again?

Diskoboy7 @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:31AM

I can pinpoint what caused the downfall of Midway to the percise millisecond:

It was the day the first Jr. Pac-Man machine rolled off the assembly line. It pissed Namco off something bad, because Midway was abusing the Pac-Man license. When Namco ditched them, that was the beginning of the end. Mortal Kombat kept 'em on life support for a few years, but when they dropped arcade games and pinball machines for the home market - that spelled their doom. Midway was known for arcade games. In the console world, they were just another company, out of the hundreds.

The only people bigger than Midway were Atari. But when Midway stopped importing the Namco titles, but Atari still was, it hurt 'em. Midway had horrible hardware, using the underpowered MCR board, game after game, and after maybe Xenophobe, Midway just ran out of creativity. And financially, when Bally dropped 'em, that pertty much left 'em high and dry.

*gasps for air*