Rumors are flying today that Flagship Studios, creators of Hellgate London and Mythos, founded by the creators of the Diablo franchise, and (at one point) staffed almost entirely by ex-Blizzard North employees, is soon to close due to financial difficulties. Their Korean partners/owners are said to be taking over, staff cuts are confirmed, and things look very grim.
Wrangling over their game properties and legal issues will dominate the news in the days to come, but however those matters shake out, this is a say day for the gaming community. Flagship was staffed by very talented guys (and girls) who had a dream to create great computer games. I was lucky enough to be invited to their offices for business and for pleasure, and everyone there was invariably kind and helpful to me and the other webmasters in the HGL and Mythos gaming community. Let’s wish them all the best of luck in landing on their feet, and coming back with future titles as good as their past work.
Update: And it’s done. We have received inside confirmation that everyone has been laid off and the studio is closing. :-(
