Starbreeze’s string of setbacks continues after announcing last week that it was giving up its rights to 10 Crowns. The publisher has been going through some rough times since 2018. It underwent restructuring after the dismal failure of Overkill’s The Walking Dead.
This was followed by its decision to sell the rights to System Shock 3.
Under the sell-off, Mohawk, the developer of 10 Crowns, has re-acquired ownership of the historical strategy game. Starbreeze explained that it had been partially supporting the development of the title since early last year. However, the publisher is not worried because it will be reimbursed for its expenses.
Starbreeze said it had reached an agreement with Mohawk Games in which the latter would re-assume rights to 10 Crowns. For its part, the publisher expects to recover its investment at a premium.
Mohawk has kept a lid on the release date of the game. The main goal of players is to build the world’s greatest dynasty, according to PC Gamer.
Mikael Nermar, the acting CEO of Starbreeze, explained the company is carefully considering each and every opportunity that comes its way. He said his team will have to make hard choices depending on the situation that arises. This is the mindset they employed when they let go of 10 Crowns.
Nermar noted that Mohawk has made significant progress on the game’s development and will be happy to see its completion. Starbreeze’s upbeat attitude betrays the turmoil that has gripped the organization.
Just within a span of a year, it has already sold out the right to three games it had previously acquired, according to Games Industry.
It was in March 2018 when the publisher gave Behavior Interactive the rights to Dead by Deadlight for $16 million. The funds were intended to finance The Walking Dead is developed by Overkill.
This is exactly the same situation Starbreeze was in when it decided to sell back 10 crowns to Mohawk.
Unfortunately, The Walking Dead failed to meet expectations and put the publisher in a financial bind. In order to avoid further loses, Starbreeze moved to cancel the launch of the game on consoles.
This downward spiral continued when it sold back the publishing rights of System Shock 3 to Otherside Entertainment.
However, Starbreeze said that despite the 10 Crowns deal it recently made, it still owned the rights to Psychonauts 2. This game is the sequel to the 2005 cult classic by Tim Schafer.
