Joystiq

Awesomenauts to launch as planned on PSN tomorrow, XBLA naut known [Update: XBLA now known!]

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST

Awesomenauts will launch as scheduled on PSN in North America tomorrow, Sony announced via Twitter today. The future of Awesomenauts was thrown into disarray yesterday when news broke that its publisher, dtp entertainment, had filed for insolvency. Developer Ronimo said it was working with dtp to get Awesomenauts published.

Awesomenauts will be free for PS Plus subscribers, Sony said. It was scheduled to launch on XBLA on May 2, but that release is still unconfirmed. We've contacted Microsoft for clarification.

Update: Ronimo has confirmed to Joystiq that Awesomenauts will launch as scheduled on XBLA, on May 2. Microsoft has yet to respond, but this is heartening news for potential Awesomenauts fans everywhere.

Awesomenauts to launch as planned on PSN tomorrow, XBLA naut known [Update: XBLA now known!] originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JoWooD recovery plan breaks down, closure appears imminent

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:00:00 EST

Austrian game publisher JoWooD Entertainment has reached "game over," according to Austrian news site Boerse-Express. Negotiations with potential investors to recapitalize the debt-ridden publisher have fallen apart, signaling that the end is near. In order to pay back creditors, Game Informer notes, JoWooD could now attempt to sell off its game properties (recalling Midway's last gasp).

A companion report on Boerse-Express adds that shares of the company have been suspended from trading and that the JoWooD Distribution Services subsidiary has also filed for bankruptcy. It's as yet unknown what will happen to DreamCatcher, JoWooD's Toronto-based subsidiary in charge of North American publishing operations.

In early January, JoWooD filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to pursue capital reorganization. "The management board assumes that negotiations with creditors and possible investors can be positively conducted and finalized within 90 days," the company said at the time, "and thus continuation of the company can be assured."

JoWooD was founded in 1995. The company is best known for publishing the Gothic series, in addition to the Painkiller and Spellforce games. JoWooD also published Torchlight in European territories. According to Boerse-Express, the company employs about 85 staff. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, JoWooD reported a net loss of €25 million (about $36 million).

[Pictured: Painkiller: Redemption (2011)]

JoWooD recovery plan breaks down, closure appears imminent originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unnamed investor pulls its financial support for JoWooD

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 06:00:00 EST

Things aren't looking too terribly bright for Vienna-based publisher JoWooD Productions. Helmut Platzgummer, the firm in charge of the struggling company's insolvency, revealed that an unnamed investor has pulled out its interest in the company. That's not necessarily a death knell -- according to the Austrian Independent, two other investors are interested in keeping the studio afloat. (We're guessing they're really big Painkiller fans.)

Perplexingly, the publisher also announced that its upcoming expansion to Gothic 4, Fall of Setarrif, had been cancelled due to "legal uncertainty" with its own business development manager Stefan Berger. The publisher explained in a press release, "It's uncertain whether the game can be released onto the market in its current form." We hope that JoWooD can figure out some solutions for its problems, whether they be financial, legal or otherwise.

Unnamed investor pulls its financial support for JoWooD originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CDV vs SouthPeak legal battle gets much, much more complicated

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EST

When SouthPeak Games was ordered by a UK court to pay its distribution partner CDV a settlement earlier this year, rather than simply pay the settlement and move on, SouthPeak instead took a very interesting approach: buy up a company that's owed money by CDV and turn the tables. SouthPeak recently purchased the less-than-well-known dev studio IRP and filed a claim against CDV to the tune of €4.4 million ($6 million), money that CDV allegedly owes SouthPeak now that the legally embroiled publisher owns IRP, according to a Gamasutra report.

But that's not all! CDV already filed for insolvency earlier this week, claiming it did so because SouthPeak "failed to pay a court-ordered settlement to CDV" -- the same court-ordered settlement that we mentioned in the first sentence of this very post. Still with us? Good! A statement released by CDV says that the company will remain "fully operational," and its various subsidiaries are unaffected by the insolvency filing. A Frankfurt, Germany court is said to be helping CDV sort through the financial back and forth. "The Administrator together with the management team is now proactively working on solutions to restructure the company and discussions with investors and potential purchasers are on-going." Given SouthPeak's rocky past with legal matters, we get the feeling this won't be the last we hear of this mess.

CDV vs SouthPeak legal battle gets much, much more complicated originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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