Interplay Proposes $75M Fallout MMO?

[Raina]

A federal filing has revealed that diminished publisher/developer Interplay has big plans for its Fallout MMO—$75 million worth of plans, according to an investment proposition. When Interplay’s French parent company Titus Interactive went bankrupt in 2005, the fate of its subsidiaries fell into question. Interplay had licensed the rights to some of its assets to stay afloat, including Fallout 3 and two additional sequels to Bethesda.

However, Interplay retained the rights to certain assets, including a Fallout MMO.

In a late November US Securities and Exchange Commission filing containing Fallout MMO-related sections (which were marked “Confidential,” incidentally), Interplay made an investment offer. The offer proposed the sale of Interplay common stock which would be admitted for trade on one of the Euronext pan-European exchanges. The proceeds from the sales would then be used towards production of the game, which would also be supported by undisclosed development and distribution partners.

The company hopes to gather a whopping total budget of $75 million, comprised of $5 million for pre-production, $40 million for production and a launch budget of $30 million.

Production is proposed to begin as early as 2007, with a launch slated for Q3 2010. The company’s proposal expects 1 million subscribers during the first year, and projects profitability in year two, revenue of $160 million annually after its first year and net income of $50 million annually starting in year three.

According to the filing, Interplay is planning the game on a global scale, as the company cites competing MMOs popular overseas, such as Lineage 1 and 2, Mu Online and The World of Legend, as well as games popular in the West and other regions such as World of Warcraft, Guild Wars and City of Heroes/Villains. The filing added that “The market is global as players can access the servers from any country subject to localization.”

The business model outline also said that the game would be playable via a subscription or a usage-based time card, and available as a client-based download.

At this point, the investment offer appears to only be a proposal. Whether or not the plan comes to fruition is another story.

Next-Gen contacted Interplay to clear up our questions, but calls weren’t returned as of press time.


Original Article @ NextGen

[Yale]

Now this game, I'd certainly build the next rig for. Totally loved the Fallout world, and it's granddaddy, Wasteland on the C-64. I've watched rumors for years on a Fallout MMO. The powers that be have had to hear about the calling from the community, this appears to be the first step!