[MAJ] [PETITION/PC] Fallout 3

December 18, 2003 - For those of you who haven't been following the story, there have been some rumors circulating the industry that Black Isle Studios, creators of Icewind Dale, has been closed down. After posting the initial story on the rumor, we received more details from a former employee who confirmed that the studio was closed and that Fallout 3 had been cancelled.

Which brings us up to our new guest star, Interplay's investor relations department, with their official denial of the stories. "For the record," says Interplay, "Black Isle Studios remains open with projects pending, the status of Fallout 3 is under review, and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel will ship on January 13."
As far as this "under review" status for Fallout 3, Interplay had this to say: "Fallout lives...now that is not to say we have a new Fallout PC game coming in the next few months, but management will do what it can to maximize the intellectual property it owns and the fan base it has, within the financial parameters it must operate."

Interplay was quick to characterize the closure and cancellation reports as nothing more than "false rumors" possibly generated by former Interplay employees. (The source of our second story was, indeed, a former Interplay employee.)
Since Interplay is a publicly-traded company (IPLY) it does seem likely that they would have issued an official release regarding the closure. As our contact at Interplay put it: "If Interplay management had closed its most valuable development asset or chosen to abandon one of its most prized intellectual assets, the Company would have made an announcement."

-- Steve Butts