According to a report from GamesIndustry.biz, the Swedish developer and publisher Starbreeze is now seeking funding in order to avoid a liquidity shortfall. In its report on the first quarter of 2019, the company has shown that its financial situation is more delicate than ever, and the acting CEO Mikael Nermark is now campaigning to secure funding and keep the company afloat. The report also shows that the company doesn't have enough funds to last for another 12 months.
Starbreeze's managerial troubles began last year, with the Swedish Economic Crime Authority going as far as raiding their offices and seizing computers under suspicion of insider trading, as also reported by GamesIndustry.biz. More recently, however, Eurogamer published a long and comprehensive dossier on the fall of Starbreeze, reporting that the company filed for reconstruction on December 3, 2018. They also indefinitely delayed the console release of Overkill’s The Walking Dead, reporting numerous issues with budget and development cycle, as Starbreeze’s proprietary engine was replaced by Unreal Engine 4.
Following the release of the company's Q1 2019 report, acting CEO Mikael Nermark announced that his main goal right now is "to secure financing for the company's future operations." Once that is secure, then and only then will Starbreeze be able to come up with "a more detailed strategy for the future" to the company's investors.
GamesIndustry.biz had also reported in March that Skybound terminated its licensing agreement with Starbreeze after the poor commercial and critical performance of Overkill's The Walking Dead, the company's latest game, released in November last year. Earlier this year, in February, there was also another licensing termination, as Starbreeze sold back the rights to System Shock 3 back to OtherSide Entertainment, as we reported. Last month, PC Gamer reported that they had offloaded another license, in this case, Mohawk Games' 10 Crowns.
However, in February the company also signed a publishing deal with Universal for Payday: Crime War, which was first announced in May 2017 and aims to bring Paydayto the mobile market.
What do you think of Starbreeze's financial troubles? Will the company manage to secure funding to stay afloat? Let us know in the comments below!
