Midway has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization that will effect all of it’s U.S. subsidiaries, but none of their international ones.
“This was a difficult but necessary decision,” said Midway Chairman, President and CEO Matt Booty. “We have been focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution, and this filing will relieve the immediate pressure from our creditors and provide us time for an orderly exploration of our strategic alternatives. This Chapter 11 filing is the next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure.”
“Midway enters this process with strong underlying fundamentals, as evidenced by solid fourth quarter sales that exceeded expectations in spite of a challenging retail and general economic environment,” Booty added. “Overall, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe sales are approaching two million units shipped, TNA iMPACT! has shipped approximately one million units, and our Game Party franchise has sold close to three million units in total.”
Chapter 11 bankruptcy means that the company intends to keep on operating (Chapter 7 is the bad kind where they start liquidating their assets), but Midway needs permission from the court before they can move forward.
It’s a shame to see Midway have to resort to bankruptcy, but maybe this will mark the turn-around for the company who has been creating mediocre titles for much too long now. It was bound to catch up to them at some point if you ask me.