JoWooD recovery plan breaks down, closure appears imminent
Austrian game publisher JoWooD Entertainment has reached "game over," according to Austrian news site Boerse-Express. Negotiations with potential investors to recapitalize the debt-ridden publisher have fallen apart, signaling that the end is near. In order to pay back creditors, Game Informer notes, JoWooD could now attempt to sell off its game properties (recalling Midway's last gasp).
A companion report on Boerse-Express adds that shares of the company have been suspended from trading and that the JoWooD Distribution Services subsidiary has also filed for bankruptcy. It's as yet unknown what will happen to DreamCatcher, JoWooD's Toronto-based subsidiary in charge of North American publishing operations.
In early January, JoWooD filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to pursue capital reorganization. "The management board assumes that negotiations with creditors and possible investors can be positively conducted and finalized within 90 days," the company said at the time, "and thus continuation of the company can be assured."
JoWooD was founded in 1995. The company is best known for publishing the Gothic series, in addition to the Painkiller and Spellforce games. JoWooD also published Torchlight in European territories. According to Boerse-Express, the company employs about 85 staff. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, JoWooD reported a net loss of €25 million (about $36 million).
[Pictured: Painkiller: Redemption (2011)]
