Interplay: Still Alive

Remember Interplay? Publisher of the original Alone in the Dark, MDK, Lost Vikings, Blackthorne, and many other classic franchises they were most recently busy running the Hunter: The Reckoning and Baldur’s Gate series’ into the ground. But all that changed in 2004 when the company — like so many languishing publishers of old — fell on hard times. Things went silent and now the once-illustrious firm’s website has been reduced to the visage above.

Digging a little deeper it looks like Interplay’s creditors have filed the seldom-seen Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition on the publisher and will be heading to court in February. What’s that mean? An Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition is when a group of creditors gets together and decides that they’d make more money if they forced the creditee (Interplay) to file bankruptcy than if they continued to loan money to them. Youch.

Interplay remains hopeful that the claim will be tossed out by the judge as these kinds of cases usually are. There are many requirements involved to force bankruptcy and the decision actually has to be amicable between both parties to stick. Even in their current state it doesn’t seem like Interplay is willing to go quietly into that dark, pixellated night. Here’s hoping they can make it back.