The company reacts to fears concerning MicroProse's demise

After a recent story regarding the closing of MicroProse plants by its parent company Hasbro Interactive, there have been fears that it might actually mean the end of some of the company's greatest franchises, including the esteemed Falcon and X-COM series. Today, the company responded to the rumours and questions by issuing a formal statement on the future of the franchises, as well as the future of MicroProse, saying:

"As many of you have heard, our studios in Alameda, California, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will close in mid-January. Understandably, this may raise questions among MicroProse fans, and we want to take this opportunity to assure you that Hasbro is committed to MicroProse.

"Development is continuing in our Hunt Valley, Maryland, and Chipping Sodbury, UK, studios and via numerous third-party development partners. Our military sims already in development - Gunship!, Tank Platoon! and B-17 Flying Fortress II - are looking great and are set to release in 2000. Development is also continuing on the X-COM series, with the planned release of X-COM Alliance in 2000, followed by X-COM Genesis in 2001. In Europe, the much anticipated Grand Prix 3 is on schedule for a Spring 2000 release. Other products we've announced, such as the new real-time strategy game Majesty (www.majestyquest.com), are on schedule as well. The MicroProse team is also starting work on several Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering products with our partners at Wizards Of The Coast. This infusion of Wizards Of The Coast content is one of the reasons we needed to re-focus our development.

"We're proud of our flight sim heritage, especially Falcon. With the release of the 1.08 patch, we've made Falcon 4.0 the best flight sim in the industry. We thank Falcon fans for their support. In the coming weeks and months, look for news on MicroProse releases here and in the press."

Good news indeed, hopefully. As soon as we get any more on any of the above titles, we'll let you know.


Courtesy of IGN.com