Eidos Still Looking For Buyer As Key Game Slips

Officials from British-headquartered publisher Eidos Interactive have released a trading statement which claims that the company is still in talks with potential buyers, and that due diligence is currently being performed on the company and its assets. According to the statement "The Board is pursuing this process with the utmost vigor and with the objective of securing an acceptable offer for the Company. It is our intention to bring this process to a satisfactory conclusion as soon as possible. However, at this point in the discussions, there can be no assurance that an offer for the Company will be forthcoming." The statement also revealed that the release of soccer management title Championship Manager 5 has been delayed until 2005. The previous title in the series is the best selling PC game of all-time in the UK, but further sequels face serious competition from new Sega franchise Football Manager, created by the original Championship Manager developers. This leaves Eidos without any major releases during the Christmas period, although the statement does point out that the autumn release of Shellshock: ‘Nam 67 has exceeded expectations, with over 800,000 sales. The company does claim a much stronger line-up of titles due for release next year, though, including Project: Snowblind, Imperial Glory, Just Cause, 25 to Life, Commandos: Strike Force and new entries in the Hitman and Tomb Raider series. A sequel to Shellshock is also planned.