surreal-software posts

A title that was first announced well over two years ago but has gone off the radar for much of that time may have finally come to its end. Computer and Video Games is reporting via a "cast iron source close to the project" that This is Vegas, the open world action game from developer Surreal Software, has been canceled by publisher Warner Bros. Interactive.

The game was developed under Surreal's original owner Midway and was shown in playable form at Midway's last major press event in 2008 and also at E3 the same year. The game, where your character gambled, partied and generally had a good time in a highly fictional version of Las Vegas, became part of Warner Bros. Interactive when the publisher purchased Surreal Software following Midway's collapse in 2009. Warner Bros. Interactive said This is Vegas was still in production when asked by IGN about its status in August 2009.

However, Computer and Video Games reports that Surreal Software was very quietly shut down last June and that the game, which the source said had already cost over $40 million to develop by Midway, was canceled along with the studio. We've emailed' Warner Bros. Interactive for comment.

If this was The Bachelor, these folks would not be getting roses. Shacknews is reporting that a total of 25 employees have been let go across all three of Warner Bros. Interactive's Seattle area development studios: Monolith (F.E.A.R. series) Surreal Software (the upcoming This is Vegas) and Snowblind Studios. The article claims that all three studios still have just over 400 employees in total.

In an official statement, Warner Bros. Interactive has admitted to some layoffs without confirming Shacknews' specific numbers, saying, "Unfortunately, we had a few too many resources in certain functions and some positions were eliminated in this process." The publisher would also not comment on the current status of This is Vegas which was the project that Surreal Software was working on for its former owner Midway before Warner Bros. bought the developer in the summer of 2009.

After losing its shirt, pants and nearly its underpants for years (financially speaking of course) Midway's is now selling off at least part of their company. Today the company announced that Warner Bros. Entertainment has entered a "asset purchase agreement" with Midway to the tune of $33 million.

That price will nab Warner Bros. quite a few of Midway's US assets. That includes the company's Chicago and Seattle based development studios and the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise. However it does not include Midway's San Diego studio nor its UK based studio (where the recently released Wheelman game was made). The price is basically a "starting bid" for Warner Bros. Other companies now have 30 days to offer up any competing bids.

Midway's announcement this week that it was going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection may have some of the publisher's upcoming games going to new publishers as a way to continue operations. Kotaku is reporting rumors that Wheelman, the long-in-development driving action game, could be headed over to Ubisoft as a result of the Midway bankruptcy. Neither Midway nor Ubisoft will officially comment on these rumors.

Meanwhile, what about the Unreal/Unreal Tournament shooter franchise from Epic Games? The developer signed a long-term deal with Midway to publish both older and new games in the series, including an already announced expansion pack for Unreal Tournament III. Will Epic be forced to look for another publisher because of Midway's financial difficulties? Big Download contacted Epic Games' VP Mark Rein but he responded with a short and simple "No comment" to our inquires about the matter.

Midway also has This is Vegas from their Seattle-based dev company Surreal Software in the works and before their bankruptcy announcement they announced plans for a new Mortal Kombat game which presumably would be developed at their home office in Chicago. Midway also supposedly has two other secret games in development for a 2010 release. Meanwhile GamePolitics has posted up a list of all the creditors Midway currently owes money to as part of the company's Chapter 11 reorganization.

Midway only had two PC games due out in 2008 and now that number has been reduced to just one. GameSpot reports that This is Vegas, their open world action game from developer Surreal Software, won't be released this fall as originally announced. The new release date is now sometime in 2009 (On the bright side, the publisher released some new screenshots you can see in our gallery).

The game, which takes place in a fictionalized version of Sin City, will have the player become the new king of the strip via not just combat and driving but casino games and even dancing in clubs. Midway did not go into specifics on the game's new delay, saying, "It is important for us to make sure the game was given the development time needed in order to make This is Vegas a triple-A videogame." For PC gamers, this means that Midway's only game for our platform this year is the action-driving game Wheelman, due out sometime this fall.

There will be no shortages of open world action games this year but Midway plans to do something just a little bit different with the genre with their upcoming game This is Vegas. Developed by Surreal Software for the PC and other platforms, Midway recently released the first screenshots from the game to show off what it has to offer.

As the visuals show, Midway isn't trying to recreate a real version of Las Vegas but rather a idealized vision of Sin City that's more like what we might see in the movies or TV shows about the city. Your character is trying to keep the adult version of Las Vegas going against the will of a businessman who is trying to turn Vegas into more of a family tourist location. The game itself will have some aspects that are familiar to the open world genre like combat and driving through the 40 square miles of Vegas. However it will also have features like gambling (where you can "cheat" to win cash) and more importantly keeping the parties going with dancing, bartending and more mini-games. Look for This is Vegas to be released sometime this fall.