DC Studios shuts down

By GamesIndustry International Published 6 June, 2006

State of Emergency 2 blame.

Developer DC Studios, which operated out of Edinburgh, Scotland and Montreal, Canada, has been forced to shut its Scottish studio after the commercial failure of State of Emergency 2.

According to Scottish newspaper the Sunday Herald, the firm is still exploring its options and hopes to get the Edinburgh operation up and running again - but for now, 29 staff have been made redundant and the UK operation is not currently trading.

DC Studios acquired the State of Emergency 2 project from fellow Scottish developer Vis Entertainment when the latter firm went into administration in the middle of last year. The first title in the series was published by Rockstar shortly after Grand Theft Auto III, and rode to chart success on the shirt-tails of that title despite critical slamming.

Rockstar passed on the sequel, but small publisher Southpeak released State of Emergency 2 in the USA and Europe earlier this year - with revenues which DC boss Mark Greenshields told the Sunday Herald were "substantially lower than we expected."

"We had to pay a lot of money in order to complete the game," he explained. "A lot of things were discovered after the acquisition. But when you buy something out of receivership, it's buyer beware."

DC Studios' Canadian operation, which employs 55 people, will remain in business as usual, and Greenshields remains cautiously optimistic about the Scottish operation. "I'm taking legal advice on whether we go into administration or if there are other options," he told the Sunday Herald. "I have to be careful about doing the right thing for everyone. I have to obey the law."

Picture of GamesIndustry.

About GamesIndustry International

GamesIndustry International is the world's leading games industry website, incorporating GamesIndustry.biz and IndustryGamers.com.

Read more articles from GamesIndustry by visiting the GamesIndustry International archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (13) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • JediMasterMalik #1 6 years ago

    Typical, shut down the UK branch. :(

    Here's a thought, don't make crap games. ;)

  • Kazzahdrane #2 6 years ago

    I feel bad for DC studios, but they should never have approached the steaming pile of shite that was SoE2. For anyone in the know it was clear that Vis had made a bad job of what they'd made before they went under, and it would appear DC couldn't save things from the reviews the game got.

    /from Dundee, where Vis was based.

  • nickthegun #3 6 years ago

    "Here's a thought, don't make crap games."

    Well thats the Industries problem solved. Go home everyone, nothing to see here anymore.

    Although, to be fair, "Heres a thought, don't make sequels to crap games" would probably have seen them in good stead.

    Without R* name behind it, it was always doomed to flop on its arse.

  • Pixelboy #4 6 years ago

    "I have to be careful about doing the right thing for everyone. I have to obey the law."- quote, Mark Greenshields.

    ...as I understand it, the people didnt get any redundancy, or pay for the month they worked. Always nice to see a company boss who seems to know what the "right thing" is for everyone when it comes to closing down a company.

  • TedBaker #5 6 years ago

    "We had to pay a lot of money in order to complete the game," [Greenshields] explained.

    Did this pay for the Vis employees' redundacies?

  • Stickman #6 6 years ago

    Whoever made the decision to spend money purchasing SOE2 should be made to sell all his possesions and give the proceeds to all the people laid off. Idiot.

  • Kazzahdrane #7 6 years ago

    "Did this pay for the Vis employees' redundacies?"

    Can;t say, but I doubt it, considering how dodgily Vis itself was run from what I've heard. A lot of Vis employees got jobs at local dev Real-Time Worlds though, who are working on two 360 titles.

  • The-Bodybuilder #8 6 years ago

    Wait.....SOE2 was out?

  • trevd72 #9 6 years ago

    they make crap games but its ok for them take take the money from people who are not in the know. other people get a pirate copy to find out if its crap and the industry complains. thats the best thing about pirate games and music you can try before you buy. I discovered Nightwish this year through this method and I have now bought thier complete back catalogue and i wait with anticipation for them to tour.

  • Perry #10 6 years ago

    The way adminsitrations work is that the employees claims are the highest creditor, so before the banks will get paid the employees will receive their money - don't fret.

    Also, if there are dodgy payments to directors before administration, it is easy to claw these back and disperse in the proper manner.

  • Rambaldi #11 6 years ago

    Zero sympathy

  • Kiigan #12 6 years ago

    "Zero sympathy"

    A tad harsh. Certainly, DC Studios made some utter shit and their demise is a surprise to no one, but spare a thought for the many talented, hardworking developers who got utterly shat upon in some truly disgraceful mismanagement, even by games industry standards.

  • thelastslice #13 6 years ago

    Kiigan
    "A tad harsh. Certainly, DC Studios made some utter shit and their demise is a surprise to no one, but spare a thought for the many talented, hardworking developers who got utterly shat upon in some truly disgraceful mismanagement, even by games industry standards."

    I'd like to agree with you Kiigan, but if I were a developer working on a sequel to State of Emergency- I should know enough to save up for a rainy day.