DC Studios Closes Scottish Development HQ

According to a report in Scottish newspaper the Sunday Herald, independent game developer DC Studios has closed its Edinburgh studio following the critical and commercial failure of PlayStation 2 title State of Emergency 2. The Sunday Herald reports that all twenty-nine staff have been made redundant, albeit with hopes that administration can be avoided and the studio perhaps re-opened at a later date. The company’s larger studio in Montreal, Canada is unaffected by the closure. At one stage comprising four separate studios, DC Studios has been responsible for over 60 titles across all formats, including Rayman DS, Bratz, Fear Factor Unleashed, The Atari 'TV Game' system, The Commodore 64 'TV Game' system, Tour de France Centenary Edition and the GBA Video range developed with Majesco. The Scottish studio’s problems are a direct result of the commercial failure of State of Emergency 2, which the company acquired from fellow Scottish developer VIS Entertainment following that company's slip into administration last year. The original title was published by Rockstar, and saw significant success in the wake of Grand Theft Auto III. The sequel, though, was published by SouthPeak Interactive and received poor reviews and apparently "We had to pay a lot of money in order to complete the game," founder Mark Greenshields is quoted as saying. "A lot of things were discovered after the acquisition. But when you buy something out of receivership, it's buyer beware."