Midway Shifts Rise & Fall Development Internally

Following November 2005's unexpected closing of Stainless Studios, the Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of PC real-time strategy game Rise And Fall: Civilizations At War, publisher Midway has announced that its own Midway San Diego internal team will complete the game. According to the firm, Rise And Fall is now scheduled for release in June 2006. The game’s development is now being led, from the San Diego studio, by a team that includes game industry veterans from the teams that developed Heroes of Might and Magic and Lords of Everquest. There had been previous indications from sources close to Midway that this office may be closing when all current projects were completed, but it appears that Rise And Fall will definitely be completed there. The game itself was largely completed by Stainless Studios before its closure, according to employee reports, being relatively close to final testing phase. However, the differences of opinion with its publisher which led to the firm's closure may mean some design changes for the title. Rise And Fall, which "puts players in the role of some of history’s greatest generals", including Julius Caesar, Cleopatra or Alexander the Great, was designed by Stainless Studios founder and Age Of Empires lead designer Rick Goodman, who started his company in January 1998, and who had previously completed PC strategy titles Empire Earth and Empires: Dawn of the Modern World for Sierra and Activision respectively, both to critical acclaim. Rise And Fall had a scheduled ship date of February 2006 before Stainless Studios' closure, and it is unclear whether Goodman will have any part in the game's completion, though with the announcement of the new creative team, it appears that this will not be the case.