Meridian 59 dev Near Death Studios reaches death

We don't blame you if you can't remember Near Death Studios, which today announced it will be closing its doors after nine years spent trying (and failing) to make money from its early generation MMO, Meridian 59. The now-ironically named developer was started in 2001 by two of the staffers responsible for the game -- Rob Ellis and Brian Green -- who cite (among other things) a loss of players to World of Warcraft as reasons for its poor performance.

Admitting that Near Death Studios has "been on life support" for several years (again, the irony is palpable), Green wrote on his blog that the "killing blow" came when the company lost its billing provider and was no longer able to process subscribers' credit card payments. Negotiations with another provider had been ongoing, Green said, but ultimately fell through, prompting the closure. We can't help but wonder if changing the company name might have helped "Near Death" earn more confidence from prospective financial partners.

[Via Gamasutra]