stargate-resistance
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Stargate Resistance servers to shut down Jan. 15, game no longer for sale
If you've been keeping the Stargate Resistance alive since it launched back in February, sadly, all hope is lost: The game will shut down on January 15, 2011. According to a recent missive on the game's site, the agreement between MGM, the owners of the Stargate license, and Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, the Resistance developer, expired earlier this month, and as a result the game is no longer being offered for sale to new customers. If there's a silver lining here, it's in the ability for existing players to keep up the fight ... until the inevitable end in mid-January. Cheyenne has had a rough year, filing for Chapter 11 shortly after launch of Stargate Resistance. While it's possible MGM and Cheyenne could strike a new agreement bringing the game back online, the chances appear to be slim to none. [Thanks, Robin]
Judge awards Stargate Worlds assets to Cheyenne Mountain, MGM terminates license [Updated]
The saga of Stargate Worlds took another interesting twist this week as an Arizona judge ended the legal battle over the assets of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment. The company -- which is currently languishing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection -- will retain control of all its game-related resources. The action settles a fraud complaint initiated by Cheyenne against Dark Comet Games and Fresh Start Studios, both formed by former Cheyenne employees looking to use company materials for the Stargate Resistance shooter released earlier this year. Though the ruling grants Cheyenne full control of its Stargate assets, completion of the long-suffering Stargate Worlds MMORPG is doubtful due to the recent expiration of the IP license from MGM Studios. Cheyenne founder Gary Whiting told the gaming blog Nerdvana that MGM issued a termination notice on November 3rd. While the notice doesn't affect Stargate Resistance, it does provide a huge obstacle for MCA Financial Group's bid to save the license for Stargate Worlds. MCA is a Phoenix-based company called in to supervise Cheyenne's restructuring under Chapter 11. [Update: Apparently, there's some discrepancy with what Nerdvana is reporting, or what Gary Whiting is saying. This blog post explains a bit more on how the judge actually didn't award full control of SGW back to Cheyenne.]
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment sells off Stargate assets
It's a troubling day for an already-troubled studio, as Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has sold off Stargate Resistance -- the third-person shooter title that was made to help keep the company afloat and fund further development of Stargate Worlds -- to a startup company called Fresh Start. Fresh Start is comprised of former Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment employees, which means that the title is still in the hands of its makers. Gamer/Law breaks down the recent events, and notes the salient details: that Fresh Start is in a joint venture agreement with CME to receive and run all of CME's assets (including Stargate Resistance), CME has the option to buy back these assets in the future, and there is no official word on Stargate Worlds. Gamer/Law speculates that there is either "some unpublicised arrangement has been entered into, or Cheyenne's Stargate MMO rights are an asset to be sold to satisfy creditors, or (possibly) Cheyenne has lost those rights following its entry into bankruptcy." If you haven't been following the long, painful saga of CME and Stargate Worlds, suffice to say that this promising MMO suffered from lack of employee pay, devs jumping ship, extensive layoffs, lawsuits, Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a vague suit brought against former CEO Gary Whiting, and the sudden shift from developing SGW to getting Stargate Resistance out the door. However, whether this latest development will be a positive one to offer hope for a SGW resurrection or the death knell for the game has yet to be seen.
Stargate: Resistance developer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Stargate Worlds and Stargate: Resistance developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has suffered the slings and arrows of economic turmoil for months now, leading to a number of unflattering reports about the company's finances. However, it seems the studio is taking steps to get itself back on the right track: A representative for Cheyenne recently announced on its official forums that the developer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In the aforementioned forum post, the representative assured fans of the Stargate games that, should the bankruptcy filing be approved, that the company won't simply shut down while it restructures. He explained, "our entire staff is in-house working on upgrades and expansions for Stargate: Resistance, and we continue to be motivated and excited by the response we've received from our customers." We wish everyone the best of luck with turning the good ship Cheyenne back into more prosperous waters.
Cheyenne files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, severs ties with Gary Whiting
Anyone who has been keeping an eye on the situation surrounding Stargate Worlds, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and related publishing company FireSky, knows that there's been trouble brewing for some time. We've seen struggles to get funding, employees going unpaid, lawsuits for unpaid bills, and some of the studio's main names leaving the building. Still, they just released the FPS based on the work they'd been doing for Stargate Worlds, called Stargate: Resistance. The hope was that S:R would give Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment a much needed cash infusion. Now, news has come to light that not only has Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection, but they've also severed all ties with Gary Whiting -- former Chairman and CEO of CME. Add to that, the shareholders and Cheyenne Mountain have joined forces against Whiting in civil case (CV2010-003106) filed in Maricopa County, naming many other ventures including the curious "interactive social network," MMOGuls Inc. as co-defendants, in a civil complaint "alleging various wrong doing against the Company." A statement detailing the company's current status was posted today to the Stargate Worlds forums. We've included it behind the break for those interested. In the meantime, let's hope that the change in leadership, combined with a reorganization under Chapter 11, and the release of Stargate: Resistance proves to be the boon that Cheyenne Mountain needs to get back on track -- and into the black.
Stargate: Resistance pre-orders open for Feb. 10 delivery
So, yeah, Stargate fans. That whole Stargate: Worlds MMO you've been waiting for since forever? Well, at least you'll get to shoot things while you wait some more. Stargate: Resistance, the third-person online shooter that FireSky and Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment inexplicably dropped news on last month in lieu of anything to say about the game fans have actually been anticipating, is set to hit next week -- February 10 -- and can be pre-ordered for $19.95 from Direct2Drive. Hey, it could be good -- or it could be a quick-and-dirty attempt to recoup the costs incurred developing an MMO that may never come out. (C'mon, we were all thinking it.) [Via GateWorld; Thanks, Robin!]
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: What happened to SGW?
Fans have been waiting for the Stargate:Worlds MMO for what feels like forever, and a few weeks ago got a surprise in the form of a Stargate shooter instead of any more news on the MMO. We got a brief explanation on the reasoning behind this, but Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment covered things in a bit more detail yesterday. The CME team took some time to discuss Stargate:Resistance with fansite GateWorld, and also talked quite a bit about the decision to shelf Stargate:Worlds for the time being. As producer Kathryn Dutchin pointed out the answer isn't a cut-and-dried, single-sentence explanation. When a long-running, extensive project like Stargate:Worlds begins to run into trouble, there are a lot of decisions to be made, questions to be answered, and problems to be sorted out, and it takes time. The ultimate goal is obviously to complete the project as originally intended, but there comes a point where the team is forced to say "This isn't going to happen. What next?" "What next" in this case is Stargate: Resistance, but we'll wish CME the best of luck and continue keeping our fingers crossed for that MMO. The full interview is a must read for fans of either game, and can be found here.
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment reveals Stargate shooter instead of MMO
After over two years of work on Stargate Worlds and an increasingly dubious outlook, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment launched a website revealing Stargate Resistance. The game defines itself as a third-person shooter, and is scheduled for a release very soon -- Q1 2010. This is a bit of a startling development for fans who have been anticipating Stargate Worlds, as well as those who have given up on the franchise completely. So what does this mean for Stargate Worlds? Information is a little scattered, but SGW team member fan Ian Stock gave the most concise explanation: "SGW will be worked on; but at a much lower rate compared to that of Resistance...That is until such a time when SG:R has become comfortable financially (enough) to then begin ramping up SGW again." The latest news on the Stargate Worlds site highlights the screenshots that were revealed back in November, so the Stargate Worlds development team seems to have moved their attention to Stargate Resistance for the time being.
