Titus Grace Period Ends, Liquidation Begins

In the latest move afflicting the dormant game developer and publisher, French courts have ruled that Titus' bankruptcy grace period has ended, and that the company will forthwith be liquidated to pay off what debts can be resolved, using the company's remaining assets. This moves Titus, and likely its subsidiaries such as Interplay, from the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy to the equivalent of Chapter 7, which is the categorization Acclaim recently went through when the company sold their assets and offices, before ceasing to exist. Titus' fate has been sealed, but Interplay's is less than certain. Interplay was not a wholly owned subsidiary; rather, they were a controlling shareholder with 61% of Interplay's stock. (At Interplay's current stock value of 1.6 cents a share, Titus' 58 million shares will only pay off $928,000 of their debt, which won't go very far.) In addition, sources are reporting that international subsidiaries are technically exempt from the bankruptcy. It's possible that Interplay may continue operations, should a buyer for Titus' interest in the company emerge; if that happens, projects like the planned Fallout MMO and newly acquired massively multiple RTS title Ballerium may proceed apace. On the other hand, as of press time, phone calls to Interplay were met only with a generic voicemail message, and no official statement has yet been released. More information as to Interplay's status will undoubtedly emerge in the coming days.