Iron Lore Entertainment Closes

[GameBanshee News]

Iron Lore, maker of Titan Quest and GameBanshee Action RPG of the Year Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, has officially shut down. While this was known to be coming for some time, it's still sad news. From their website:

It is with great regret that we must announce that as of close of business Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Iron Lore Entertainment has ceased active game development. Several unrelated events occurred which resulted in Iron Lore being unable to secure funding for its next project.

We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has helped us in the last seven years – our team who moved mountains to create such great games, our publisher THQ who has been a great partner through three product development cycles, and most of all our customers and fans. We owe all of the success we’ve had to you, and our greatest satisfaction has come from creating games that have given enjoyment to the community.

While Iron Lore will not continue, the talent of the team is embodied in the individuals now available for other opportunities. If you are a developer or publisher looking to hire top-notch experienced developers, please send an email to pchieffo “at” ironlore “dot” com and we will be happy to facilitate recruiting with you.

Iron Lore also owns it’s powerful and flexible engine and tool set, and is actively pursuing licensing opportunities. If you are interested in further information about the technology and licensing options, please contact pchieffo “at” ironlore “dot” com.

[BuckGB]

This really annoys me. With Troika Games, one could point to their games' bugs and dedication to the hardcore PC crowd for reasons why the company eventually had to shut down. And even then, they were able to secure funding for three games.

Titan Quest is (by far) the most advanced and entertaining action RPG since Diablo II and Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is easily one of the best expansion packs ever released for any game across all genres. So what went wrong? What publisher wouldn't jump at the chance to fund a Titan Quest II, even if it meant releasing an Xbox 360 or PS3 version alongside the PC version?

[DesR85]

Sorry about the closure, but if I may ask, how many copies did Titan Quest sell? Haven't heard much about it's sales figures after the launch.

[BuckGB]

Here's what gameplay designer Arthur Bruno had to say earlier this month:

"Hehe - unfortunately the sales were not as good as you might expect. We did ok in Europe but poorly in America. Iron Lore hasn't made any royalties off the game as of yet and I'm not sure we will at this point. So, I think the sales just weren't enough for THQ to justify further investment in the product. Its sad for us but hey, I guess thats the way business goes."

I know that the game has sold pretty well on Valve's Steam service, but it doesn't sound like Iron Lore saw any of that money.

[Siberys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GameBanshee News Iron Lore, maker of Titan Quest and GameBanshee Action RPG of the Year Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, has officially shut down.

Umm, what? What the hell for? They made an AWESOME game and now they shut down?

Yesterday, almost exactly 24 hours before I saw this, I was playing TQ and finishing up a major section of the game, and I thought "Well I've played this over and over, it's a great game but I can't wait to see what else comes from Iron Lore." Then they're forced to shut down. I don't blame them for this, but still I'm infuriated that a frickin great company had to shut down.

[Uller]

This is absolutely ridiculous....
We have a game that by far has been the best Action RPG to date (way better than D2) and the company that made it has to shut down due to lack of funding.....

Are THQ blind! I think they have single handedly killed an innovator within the genre....its like cutting Blizzard off after they made Diablo 1....

All I can say is that it is extremely sad for the PC industry...we have a market dominated by MMORPG's....with no risks taken by companies to back the "little guy" who comes up with innovative games that aren't MMORPG's....

I am saddened for the PC industry.