IAC Incurs $22M Writedown On InstantAction Closure

Web conglomerate IAC reported Wednesday it took a $21.5 million after-tax loss from the shutdown last year of browser-based gaming platform InstantAction. The writedown occurred during publicly-held IAC's fiscal year ended December 31. The company announced in November last year that it would "winding down operations" and shutting down the InstantAction website. The technology behind InstantAction allowed gamers to play games embedded in web browsers, including The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. Last year, InstantAction also launched the browser and Facebook-based music game Instant Jam, which also shuttered. InstantAction also aimed to deliver large-download games faster than current solutions through progressive downloads. IAC is the large internet-specific conglomerate that also owns sites including CitySearch and Match.com. The parent company reported a 27 percent year-on-year rise in Q4 revenues to $451.4 million. Losses were $21.4 million, an improvement over losses of $1.03 billion for the same quarter a year ago. Fiscal year sales for IAC were up 22 percent to $1.6 billion, and profits were $49.8 million, up from a $1.04 billion loss the year prior.