JoWooD Cancels Stargate Title, Developer Partnership

JoWooD, Austrian-headquartered publisher of the Gothic series, has announced that Australian independent developer Perception is no longer working on its Stargate SG-1 game for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. "The title in its current form, initially scheduled for an October 2005 release, does satisfy neither our quality requirements nor the fans expectations," said JoWooD CEO Albert Seidi. "We will not release anything that does not do justice to this well known license." A particularly notable part of the termination is that JoWooD claims that, according to the details of the contract, they will be seeking both renumeration for the amount invested in Perception's build so far, as well as development rights and the source code completed to date. "After delivery of the code and assets JoWooD will review the possibility of seeking out developers if it is economically viable to finish the title," said JoWooD executive producer Michael Paeck. The hiatus in development comes after other unfortunate events for JoWood; in January, the publisher closed in-house development studios in Austria and Germany, while its most recent financial statement revealed relatively significant quarterly losses. The Stargate SG-1 title, one of JoWooD's more high-profile games for a North American and non-Continental European market, now may not be released in the next year or two, as company executives debate whether to re-imagine the game as a next-generation title.