Grin closes

Apr 17, 2009
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San Diego, CA
Swedish developer GRIN is closing its doors after some 12 years of making games like Bionic Commando, Wanted: Weapons of Fate, and Terminator: Salvation. The studio is closing because of an “unbearable cash flow situation,” founders Bo and Ulf Andersson announced on their website today. The company was reportedly affected by publishers delaying payment.

The founders thanked their partners and the publishers who did pay them, but said their “unreleased masterpiece” was not allowed to finish.

Several former GRIN employees have founded a new studio, Develop reports. Outbreak Studios will focus on downloadable games for the PlayStation Network, the PSPgo, iPhone, Xbox Live Arcade, and Games for Windows Live.
 
more info:

It's official. No more gold teeth will be added to that gruesome smile, as GRIN, the Swedish developer responsible for games like Bionic Commando, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and more is closing its doors due to "an unbearable cashflow situation."

In a letter from GRIN founders Bo and Ulf Andersson, the CEO and director, respectively, write that "too many publishers have been delaying their payments" to the developer, ending the 12-year-old company officially. The Anderssons lament their "unreleased masterpiece that we weren't allowed to finish," going on to thank their partners and the publishers who apparently did pay them.

Rumors of GRIN's demise began popping up earlier this week, with studios Barcelona and Gothenburg shutting down and the imminent closure of the company's Stockholm HQ. That followed reports of cutbacks earlier in the year, not long after the developer's Bionic Commando and Terminator games failed to inspire sales.

GRIN was reported to have filed for bankruptcy earlier today, with Swedish news radio outlet Sveriges Radio citing the economic climate at the root cause of the closure.

Develop also reports that some former GRIN employees have founded a new studio, Outbreak Studios, which plans to focus on downloadable titles for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iPhone, Games for Windows Live and PSPgo. Outbreak was founded by former GRIN lead programmer Peter Bjorklund, whose credits unfortunately include Terminator: Salvation.

Best of luck to the guys and gals at GRIN. We really would've liked to see what became of that final "unreleased masterpiece." And thanks to all of our tipsters—Guendolin, Khoi and Johan—for the helpful info.

Link: kotaku.com/5335903/grin-is-officially-dead-spawns-outbreak
 
Sucks for them ... Salvation coulda been soo much better, the covering system and moving from positions was probably one of the few things they got totally right.
 
Sucks for them ... Salvation coulda been soo much better, the covering system and moving from positions was probably one of the few things they got totally right.
Yeah, I thought with all the games developed by the company that were released this year, I thought they were gonna get there. I think it was the poor sales of Bionic Commando that killed them. At least they managed to release that BC: Rearmed trophy patch in time.
 
Grin's 'unreleased masterpiece' was a Final Fantasy game

It appears the ‘unreleased masterpiece’ GRIN was working on before it closed its doors last week was a Final Fantasy game, based on a former employee’s LinkedIn profile page. Swedish 3D artist, Tomislav Spajic, says he worked on an “unannounced Final Fantasy project” on his LinkedIn page.

You can check out some of his work on his personal page, which includes images of a game named Fortress, which is likely the unreleased Final Fantasy game.

GRIN closed last week because of financial struggles.

link to his page: clayman.se/