Hip Interactive Lapses Into Insolvency
polycounter lvl 18
"Canadian game and peripheral publisher Hip Interactive has announced that it has lapsed into insolvency, following news that the company had delayed its financial results, expected to show a loss before income taxes of between $20 and $21 million, and further problems leading to the CFO's resignation late last week.
The company announced that it "no longer has sufficient cash available to it to pay its liabilities as they become due", and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has appointed Ernst & Young Inc. as interim receiver. The directors of Hip Interactive have resigned following this final blow.
Hip's statement makes it clear that many associated with the company will not fare well due to this transition, commenting: "At this time, it is not clear the level of recovery that the Company's unsecured creditors will realize; although it is not expected that the Company's shareholders will receive any proceeds of such liquidation."
Hip Interactives product line includes a significant range of peripherals and controllers under the Hip Gear name, though Hip had recently been making a larger push into console and PC game publishing, with titles including Pariah, Playboy: The Mansion, and Stolen.
The company was also in the process of funding the publishing of the forthcoming Call of Cthulhu: Destiny's End, developed by Headfirst Productions, and George Romero's City of the Dead, developed by Kuju Entertainment, among others. It is currently unclear what will happen to Hip's in-development titles."
Although I am due to work my last day at Headfirst at the end of the month (to go to Bioware,) this really pisses me off as I most likely wont be getting paid on time and Destinys end potentially becomes another canned project I worked on. Hopefully the guys will get the game signed with another publisher.. crap like this really fecks me off.
The company announced that it "no longer has sufficient cash available to it to pay its liabilities as they become due", and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has appointed Ernst & Young Inc. as interim receiver. The directors of Hip Interactive have resigned following this final blow.
Hip's statement makes it clear that many associated with the company will not fare well due to this transition, commenting: "At this time, it is not clear the level of recovery that the Company's unsecured creditors will realize; although it is not expected that the Company's shareholders will receive any proceeds of such liquidation."
Hip Interactives product line includes a significant range of peripherals and controllers under the Hip Gear name, though Hip had recently been making a larger push into console and PC game publishing, with titles including Pariah, Playboy: The Mansion, and Stolen.
The company was also in the process of funding the publishing of the forthcoming Call of Cthulhu: Destiny's End, developed by Headfirst Productions, and George Romero's City of the Dead, developed by Kuju Entertainment, among others. It is currently unclear what will happen to Hip's in-development titles."
Although I am due to work my last day at Headfirst at the end of the month (to go to Bioware,) this really pisses me off as I most likely wont be getting paid on time and Destinys end potentially becomes another canned project I worked on. Hopefully the guys will get the game signed with another publisher.. crap like this really fecks me off.
Replies
Does the bankrupcy surprise anyone then?
Sorry for the staff who've lost their jobs, though.
'According the Hip Interactive Europe, all scheduled games will still be released on time'
[url="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=10083\]"]http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=10083\][/url]
The company and its subsidiaries will continue to operate during the proceedings, albeit under the oversight of the interim receiver, or bankruptcy administrator.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/11/news_6128838.html
From what I hear Hip europe only publishes and distributes videogames on all the European territories.. not North America.
But they are also a full subsidiary company of Hip Interactive (canada)..
ITs a big fat mess but I hope it gets sorted